by Anthony Ramey

Created on: June 07, 2008

How has the internet changed the way people buy music? Well, I believe the operative word in this question is "buy". Music listeners between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five don't buy music anymore. They steal it. This past year at the university as a full time professor (and songwriter) opened my eyes to a whole new generation of these music "buyers". At the turn of every corner of every hallway of every building on campus were students lining the corridors with their iPods full of downloaded music-music that is "shared" more than bought-waiting for classes to begin. I took a poll this spring, candidly asking students how much of the music on their iPods and phones was actually paid for. Only about thirty percent said they actually bought the music they listened to. The rest scoffed at the idea of buying music when it has become so easy to share it amongst friends, both personal and cyber. As the number of iPods grows, so will the amount of stolen copyrights.

I've heard many in the music business say that the future of the industry is uncertain. For someone who has made a decent living earning residuals from licensed copyrights, the future is far more scary than uncertain. Many record label execs, publishers and music pundits contend that the loss of sales is phasing out the "major label" model as we know it. On the surface, this might not seem so bad, especially for a writer, who often is at odds with majors when trying to collect a fair and equitable rate for his or her creativity and the use of intellectual property. "Good!" say the college students with their idealism and utopian vision of independent labels and bands who "own their own stuff". The truth is, I used to say the same thing. Much of the artistry is in fact filtered out from the top down, from the A&R folks who try to find great acts and the songs to go with them to the bean counters who do testing and take "polls" from people who hear five seconds of the prospective single release, much of what made the music interesting, original and cool is lost along the way-like nutrients from processed foods.

The other side of that coin must be considered, however. The major label model, as cold and calculated as it is, has been the model keeping artists alive through the ravages of capitalism. Where most other countries have government programs (easily accessible programs that is) to support art and artists, we have only supply and demand, and the company owners who take risks on artists like Bruce

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