The internet has made viable illegal access of songs, free access of media, and essentially a removal of the NEED to pay for these things.
Yes, both iTunes and Napster are now offering 'buy online' deals, with tracks for 99c and albums for 9.99. (i mention the prices because they're identical). iTunes is better known, wheras Napster is allowing five free listens of a song without paying (like free samples in a music store.) and a 'napsterlinks' service. iTunes also grants the artist only 11c of the 99 that you pay for its songs... I don't have data on napster for that particular.
The question, however, has nothing to do with either of them specifically.
Will online legal music sharing - from artist to label to site, losing money all along the way - become accepted modus operandi, or will it be - to the dismay of failing artists, or artists who are fine now but who will rely on royalties to support their lifestyle (children, etc) - pushed out entirely by free downloads? Or will something entirely different happen?
Things like BitTorrent and Grokster are difficult to destroy, because they don't rely on a middleman to work Of course, will even they fall through when made only as a hobby-only occupation?
And what will that mean for the music quality? Will it get better, because it's easier to get private music and demand increases for privately-created music? Or will it degrade, due to a lack of funding towards specialized artists? Or is there another way to deal with it that hasn't been publicized much yet?
Yes, both iTunes and Napster are now offering 'buy online' deals, with tracks for 99c and albums for 9.99. (i mention the prices because they're identical). iTunes is better known, wheras Napster is allowing five free listens of a song without paying (like free samples in a music store.) and a 'napsterlinks' service. iTunes also grants the artist only 11c of the 99 that you pay for its songs... I don't have data on napster for that particular.
The question, however, has nothing to do with either of them specifically.
Will online legal music sharing - from artist to label to site, losing money all along the way - become accepted modus operandi, or will it be - to the dismay of failing artists, or artists who are fine now but who will rely on royalties to support their lifestyle (children, etc) - pushed out entirely by free downloads? Or will something entirely different happen?
Things like BitTorrent and Grokster are difficult to destroy, because they don't rely on a middleman to work Of course, will even they fall through when made only as a hobby-only occupation?
And what will that mean for the music quality? Will it get better, because it's easier to get private music and demand increases for privately-created music? Or will it degrade, due to a lack of funding towards specialized artists? Or is there another way to deal with it that hasn't been publicized much yet?