List Break - Free File Sharing

I've wanted to tackle this one for a long time. The biggest controversy in music, is it safe, is it even ethical, to share music on line so that other people can get it for free. On the surface, it seems like a pretty simple argument: If people just get music for free, then they won't pay for the artists work, and they are stealing. Well, it's far deeper than that. And after searching through that I've finally found the answer: File Sharing for Free Is Great.

All the PSA's and record companies say the same thing: You have to pay for the artists work r it's stealing, that's why file sharing should be illegal. They makes sense on the surface, until you realize something. Let's clean the slate of what we think we know about file sharing, it's all false. The reason that CD sales are going down is a far more obvious problem, iTunes. When you can by one single for 0.99, why by a CD? The drop in CD sales is because of iTunes. File Sharing has actually been proven to aid the artist and improve sales. For instance, many people, including nearly everyone I know, do not use programs like Limewire lightly. Many use file sharing as an opportunity to sample the music for whole without spending money on something you might hate. The music quality is low, and it's tough to find everything you want. So people usually go and buy the CD. And it shows. Radiohead were about to release Kid A, when the album was leaked online 3 months in advance. Upon it's release, Kid A topped the charts in 6 countries including the US, a feat never achieved by the band. Radiohead are now strong supporters of file sharing, along with artists like The Offspring, Pink Floyd, and The Ben Folds Five. All those artists like Prince and Metallica say that there albums failed because of file sharing, how do they know that? They're just guessing.

The final argument for file sharing is an easy one. For people new to music, back before iTunes when records where released on vinyl, singles were released as well. A single was song off a recently released album that the producer chose to promote it. They were released on a smaller format, and they were much cheaper. People could effectively sample the songs off the album and then decide to buy the whole album. People use is in the same way today. In effect, this is the record companies' fault because once CD's came around, they made the ultimate bone headed move. They stopped releasing singles because cost the same to put a whole album on a CD. If people only had enough money to buy their favorite single on the radio, they figured "They're online for free." Besides, in modern record deals, and relatonships, record distributers are entitled to an unfair amount of money when it comes to how much the artist is paid. So even if the record fails because of file sharing, the band can still become popular through the songs leaked, and get money for live shows, and other perks. When you "steal" from the artist, you're only stealing from the record company.

Remember, my friends, music is art. And like all art, it gets to people through odd ways.