"Digital Downloading -- The Future Of Music"
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Music Publishers |
The creation of file sharing technologies may change today's balance between songwriters, performing artists, and record companies in ways that have not even begun to be realized.
The launching of peer-to-peer programs like the infamous Napster has caused tremendous amounts of controversy. Cries arose from the recording industries as well as the recording artists for technology to circumvent these digital downloading programs. These two opposing groups finally found something to bring them together. They are the leading supporters of digital rights management systems. Napster was re-launched as a legally licensed download site in 2003. The same year, Apple Computer's iTunes online music store was opened. With these and other similar businesses, the major record companies have started to realize and appreciate the potential of this new technology.
The big record companies have joined with Napster and iTunes to promote the new digital music download subscription services. The potential to change the way music has been consumed is causing almost as much attention and controversy as the change of power between sheet music and recorded music did.
Digital downloading allows people to change the way they have traditionally purchased music. This change allows the "flowing" into a home instead of the traditional one-by-one commodity purchase that has been the way of things in the past.
The comparison to monthly usage services like water and electricity has been made. People can pay for their music on a monthly usage basis. And this will hopefully result in more "play" and income for all the musicians involved.
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Brian Cook is a freelance writer whose articles on music and songwriting have appeared on many websites.
You can find more of these at SongwritersGuide.com.
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