Not many people look at the music section when going into places that sell music, like Best Buy and F.Y.E. There are usually a handful of people busying themselves by looking at CDs, while the rest of the people in the store often look at something else. Free music downloads have become available for anyone who owns a computer, since the cost of CDs doesn’t seem worth the while. However, with them came a drastic side effectL: the decline of the music industry.
MP3 players have risen in popularity since they were released. Because of their portability and small size, they have been popular among teenagers as well as adults. One of the problems with MP3 players though is that adding music to one has to be done digitally. Since free MP3 versions of songs can be found online, why not just download a song without paying? It kills two birds with one stone: It keeps the listener’s wallet full and it takes less time to download than transferring every song on a CD to a computer.
Free music causes a major problem. Let’s face it, the music industry is fading. Music artists need money to continue recording, and since the number of free music downloads has increased, it’s been hard for the industry to get back up on its feet. If the record companies and music artists run out of money, then they won’t be able to record music.
If teens and even adults aren’t willing to purchase a CD that on average costs $10-15, then no wonder the music industry is diminishing. Ten dollars out of a pocket is not that much to spend for something if a person is passionate about it. Spending $10 for one album will allow the purchaser to listen to it as many times as they want. It will last a life time and will eventually pay for itself.
Teens and adults also don’t want to buy music because they think tours will help raise revenue for any musician. However, this isn’t the case. Tours are expensive. The artist has to pay for a bus if they don’t own one, pay the venue for allowing them to rent out the space, and after everything they aren’t left with much other than what they make from selling merchandise. If the revenue made from selling merchandise doesn’t make up for the cost of the event, then the tour was a major bust. They’ll have to sell more CDs to help make up for the cost. More people should buy CDs to help the music industry. The price of a single CD is just a small price to pay to see a band continue to make music, and to possibly tour again.
