The Pros And Cons Of P2P

The battle against illegal file sharing has proven to be the most important issue of the modern music industry. The turn of the century marked the beginning of an online music revolution, with peer-to-peer (P2P) networks such as Kazaa and Napster becoming popular music services, notably for being free of charge - as well as for engaging in copyright infringement. In effect, music sales have dropped significantly in recent years.

In March of 2000, 'N Sync's “No Strings Attached” broke one-week sales records when it moved 2.4 million units. This has yet to be broken. In fact, the chances of it ever being broken are doubtful upon examination of the charts. In June 2009, every album on the Billboard 200 chart cumulatively sold less than 'N Sync did in its first week nine years earlier. Has music become less popular? In a world of constantly advancing connection capabilities? Quite the contrary. In 2001, the iPod hit stores, and with it, the idea of music as a physical product began to fade. In an effort to crack down on file-sharers, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has sued nearly 35,000 people. But sales continue to drop. And in reflection upon the last decade in music, the second best-selling album was in fact “No Strings Attached,” by 'N Sync! And at number one is The Beatles' “1.”

While illegal downloading undoubtedly hurts major labels, it has huge benefits for everyone else. It's become incredibly simple for artists to mass distribute music on their own with three easy steps: find an online service, plan the release, and promote. These tools are readily (and cheaply) available on the Internet. For a piece of the profit – which would have been taken by a record company anyway – TuneCore will accept uploads from any artist. It takes minutes to set up, and within two weeks, it could be on iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon, and Napster. For promotion, social networks such as Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, last.fm, and iLike have millions of users ready for the next viral entertainment.

Through the Internet, artists are instantly globalized. Without need for a physical record, artists are no longer dependants of corporate intent. Indeed, if record companies don't find solutions, artists will go elsewhere. The same rule can be applied to music buyers looking for cheap and easy access to the music they love. The increase in music accessibility, with the help of the MP3 player, means consumers are listening to more music, more often. With iTunes, one can buy individual songs and albums instantly, and with illegal P2P services, one can download an even broader selection of music for free. With the line between mainstream music and the marginal music of global and sub cultures becoming increasingly blurred, it no longer rests on major record labels to manufacture music. The music listener can easily find anything, from obscure to popular, on the ever-expanding Internet.