by Sean McGoldrick

Created on: June 10, 2007

While downloading may well have an impact on royalty income for artists it is not unethical to do it. Listening to downloaded music may be similar to listening to a pirate radio station. The loss of royalties to the record label, and from there onto the artist, are compensated for by the increased recognition that the airplay provides for them. This recognition leads to further purchases and income.

For new, upcoming bands it helps to make them known because people are more likely to give them a chance if there is no initial outlay.

It is true that established, successful bands may be losing out on royalties and obviously the record labels would prefer to have the money as well as the airplay but it is hardly unethical (ie immoral) to deprive them of that. For example, the accumulation of vast wealth through the promotion of a drug-using, misogynist lifestyle may be considered to raise greater moral questions than the downloading of a music file.

Downloading has created a boom in the entertainment and computer sectors. MP3 players, which allow people to carry their music around and listen to it anywhere, have created a demand for music files to fill that space. Downloading has rushed in to fill that vacuum. Downloading has increased the demand for faster computers and faster broadband connections which has led to a need for increased storage capacity. The popularity of MP3 is leading to the development of music playing mobile phones which everyone will want to buy even though they'll cost a packet.

If all of this new technology is leading to problems with the way that the old royalty system worked then maybe it should be revised. Perhaps those sectors who are doing so well from the technological boom which is being led by music files could devise a system to compensate the artists who create this loss-leader for them? Would that not be more ethical than squeezing every possible penny from the music-loving public?

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