Music Downloading in the Age after Napster

For the music lovers who simply cannot get their fill of new music, the internet and the technology which allows us to download music was like a great blessing in disguise which fell down from heaven. Suddenly we were able to obtain whatever we wanted, when we wanted. The reality of this practice soon came to us all, that in fact, it was quite illegal.

So when Napster finally fell, there were a few complaints heard for a while and then silence. What could be said? We all knew it wasn't right, but then again, we just loved getting all that music for free, and nothing can really beat free music and even free music software. The fact is that no one really wants to be a criminal (even if it doesn't feel like that), and those who were singled out for hefty lawsuits by the music industry are definitely feeling the pain now.

Fortunately, the result of all this is that the music industry babied by high prices it was getting for a single CD came to realize that people were just not willing to pay that much anymore. The new age of music downloading which follows is then one in which although the music is no longer free, you can at least get it for a much cheaper price.

Let's not forget that although we all feel a certain distaste toward these large corporations who seem to eat up everything in sight, the fact is that those starving musicians out there are the ones who are really hurt when music is taken for free. Think about it. Not only does the average musician have to pay just to use a recording studio, which is more than many can afford, but most of them never reach the top singles charts, and the result of this is that if they're not getting paid for what they do, then they simply can't continue doing it.

This means that they can't make music. The situation may perhaps be a bit over-dramatized. Do you ever really believe that musicians will stop making music? No way. Think about the old blues musicians who came out of New Orleans in the 1940's or 50's, and the fantastic music which came out of Cuba in recent years, immortalized by the Buena Vista Social Club. Do you think they were making huge royalties before being brought to Carnegie Hall? That didn't stop them from playing.

The point of the matter is that music will live on, even after Napster or the fall of the music industry, even if it means that musicians of the future will be limited to home recording studios or a simple guitar on a street corner.

Perhaps in the end such a fall would be a good thing for music. Indeed, the music industry and high paid musicians could definitely use some re-tuning, as it were, for it has definitely become quite disharmonious with the original purpose of why music was made in the first place—and no, it wasn't for the royalties.

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