by Daniel Williams

Created on: January 29, 2007   Last Updated: March 19, 2012

All my life I have been surrounded by music. From birth to junior high school the only music I was allowed to listen to freely was gospel music. When I reached high school I slowly eased into listening to R&B and Hip Hop. MTV was not allowed in front of my parents nor BET. So when we finally got a computer I was introduced to the world of sharing music files. Due to the diverse sounds I was hearing, I fell in love and I started to write songs of my own. This is where I found how hard the industry has made it to succeed in the modern day music scene. The music industry is a modern day monopoly.

Computers has made life easier and more convenient in many different walks of life, sharing music is one of them. The rules and regulations set by the RIAA and other organizations make things more difficult. As an artist, I was a fan before I started making anything so I wanted others to hear what I was hearing. I do not see a crime in that. Although I do believe that CD burning phenomena is out of control. Creating a mix CD is OK, but downloading a bands whole CD for free is not.

There are thousands and thousands of independent labels in our country alone and few make little impact if any at all. The major labels that have been around since the days of Elvis and Ray Charles still reign supreme today. These labels have nothing to worry about but finding the new talent, Indie labels have to actually read through the fine print before they can even record some songs. It comes down to giving people a chance introduce themselves to the world and not holding them back.

Music is the most unique form of commmunication in the existence of mankind. One can relate to anothers trials and tribulations or even times of happiness, why restrict it? The only reason I see to restrict music sharing is when an album leaks in the hands of millions before it is released in stores a la Lupe Fiasco. Or if a cheap skate who does not acknowledge that being a music is a job and downloads the whole album free of charge. That is what the RIAA should be focusing on, not the musicians who are trying to be heard. We all deserve to be heard, its our right, and it's slowly being taken away.

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