Previously, to play your favorite singles and albums, you first had to convert your music compact disc to mp3 or a similar format so that you could play your favorite music on your portable digital player. While that is still the preferred method for most music lovers who like to buy music CDs and yet play their music on the go in a portable format, there has also been an increase in music downloads on digitized form on the Internet in the previous decade. Napster is the most famous and formerly notorious example. The music industry has realized the notoriety and potential of digital music. Music CD sales have declined over the years and music lovers prefer to get their music online. They also have facilities to share your music with your friends via Bluetooth and infrared devices or even send each other mp3 files via email.
All this is not so bad, considering the rise of Internet radio stations. Instead of relying on a few radio channels on your AM/FM player, you can now listen to the music of your choice. Just type keywords into your favorite search engine and you’re sure to find one, if not more internet radio stations that exclusively play blues music. There are also social networking websites where musicians create their own profiles to upload their music and allow you to listen to it online for free or download it for a small fee per song. Alternative rockers like Radiohead caused a storm by allowing fans to download their new album, In Rainbows, on their website for whatever price they wanted for the first week after its release. 66% of downloads in the first week were free. However, Radiohead did make a very commercially successful album. This all happened in 2005 and since then many artists release their albums and singles on their websites and some reputable websites for a fee of $1 per song.
The concept of legal and free music is difficult to define. The Internet has paved the way for many unsigned artists to create web pages on websites where they can upload their music and share band activity. In order to become popular, these artists often allow you to download their music freely and share it with your friends or post it on your blogs etc. However, artists with record contracts or major artists such as Radiohead only use legal and free downloadable music as a marketing strategy.
This shouldn’t be too disappointing for music lovers who want cheap music but don’t want to resort to piracy. An Internet connection is much more affordable now, as well as much more accessible. There are many websites that allow you to legally play your favorite music without letting you download it. However, if you are always connected to your laptop, net-book or mobile phone, this type of music will satisfy your needs and show respect for the artists.