laarni080

MP3 music is readily available from a large number of sources on the internet. Anyone with internet access can obtain MP3 music from either the web, FTP servers, IRC chat, email, or other file transferring programs such as Napster. The fact is, that the majority of music available is copyrighted and owned by artists or recording companies.

The question of whether downloading copyrighted music is morally right, is often thought about, but not discussed a whole lot. A lot of people tend to think that it is wrong, because of the cases represented via the media in newspapers, stating that people are 'robbing' artists of their rightful income.
The debate can be brought down to 'is it wrong to commit a victimless crime?' as there are no real losers. The bands don't really lose out in this; in fact they get more exposure. The real fans continue to purchase originals. The recording companies are the ones doing the most complaining, and they continue to rip-off both consumers and the artists themselves, making millions in the process.

As some of these issues are sorted out, things will change in the way music is distributed. There are already many online sellers of music, not just for CDs, but now in MP3, or other digital music formats.
Music shops aren't about to close just yet, but further into the future, most music will come from the internet - mainly because of convenience and the range of choices. Employment shouldn't change a whole lot, as jobs will move from shop retailers, into online retailers - humans are still required for online businesses.

The main beneficiaries of this are the consumers, and possibly even artists. With music available for purchase over the internet, the artists can promote and sell their material without the heavy costs of a recording contract. The music will then be fully theirs. Consumers will also have a much larger choice of material and have extra facilities such as hearing music before purchase, details about a band or album, and just better informed overall.

arppt01

I think there are many who does not want to see MP3 getting easily distributed and listened all over. It is also my question what is the wrong if people listens to MP3 from free. One solution can be those sites which are earning from Advertisements or other sources can think of paying some percentage to the original team who developed the music. In that way we can reach a solution.

philoSCIFI

I use to disagree with those who would say "its easy. the technology is there and available to everyone..." and the like. However, after thinking about it and participating in online activites such as youtube, I begin to wonder and contemplate.

There are ways to get the audio off of youtube and save them onto your computer then convert to whatever format you wish. It's difficult to draw an ethical line let alone see a line.

mari10

It is true that artists can benefit a lot by making their music available online. However, this could also mean that they are more prone to piracy.