2 of 63

No

Write now Article Tools

There's no ethics when money is involved. The music industry doesn't seem to understand that either!

The music industry is like that guy who is always late for the bus. He knows he could wake up early to catch a bus but he never does. The music industry is always late to capitalize on new technology out of fear that it will not generate enough money. The music industry fails to understand that new technologies could encourage more sales, increase distribution, increase revenues and decrease piracy. That doesn't mean that us, consumers should steal from artists.

It is unethical for the music industry to expect its consumers to pay an exorbitant price for CDs that may have but one or three great songs while the rest is left to be desired. Much like one visits a home before purchasing it, the same applies to music. Consumers are allowed to sample the product before they make the purchase and it seems that downloading music is the best avenue for this sampling. It allows a consumer to test the waters. Consumers may also explore other genres of music or artists. But when downloading, we are inherently denying an artist his pay. Artists get paid for their work but most of their hard-earned money is given to their producers, A&R's, marketing team and their record company. They only receive a fraction of their fame. Downloading music for free damps their salary.

Lets face it, music today is heavily standardized. Some songs seem to even resemble each other. Music these days lacks originality simply because of the concentration and/or heavy influence of media conglomerates. Recently, the band Coldplay has been accused of musical theft, by not one, but three different artists! If three different artists are claiming to have the same song, it can only mean that every of these songs lack originality. As a consumer, we do not want to be bombarded by the same product and we certainly do not want to purchase an album that sounds similar to another artist. That is unethical! These days, when an album makes millions, ethically, consumers are rewarding the artist for producing an album worthy of their money. Artists, with a band album, does not get the same treatment.

The music industry must understand that they are at the mercy of their consumers; not the other way around. Artists and consumers will find ways to consume and/or sell their music whether the music industry likes it or not.

Consumers have evolved. They do not listen to songs on the radio but listens to songs on the Internet. Artists have also found ways to promote their products. Some are on twitter, others use youtube and most use MySpace; but, each and every one of these artists are finding ways to promote themselves without the guiding hand of CEO or a big music company. The music industry must find a way to capitalize on these avenues before it sinks into oblivion. But, as consumers, we must remember that artists are putting a lot of effort to sell their records and we are doing them more harm when we illegally download music.

Learn more about this author, F.M.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Music piracy: Is downloading music ethical??
We want to hear your view. Write now!