My best friend, a self-proclaimed musical expert, and myself, an average consumer, disagree on an ethical situation that has been making news since roughly four years ago - downloading music and burning CDs.
With most students having KaZaA or Audiogalaxy (the latest file-sharing networks) on their computers, the music industry has reportedly suffered a financial hit, and a few have gone so far as taking legal action to shut down these sites (the infamous Metallica vs. Napster battle).
My best friend, a musician himself, is vehemently against downloading music and burning CDs, unless it's his work he's copying to sell. He makes a good point - downloading a song and burning it to a blank CD is thievery.
The members of bands such as Metallica have made a career out of their music. Sure, they've made a lot of money, but they've earned it. And smaller bands obviously need the money to further their careers by producing more albums.
Nevertheless, the average album on the market today is overpriced. And if it isn't, I'm still paying more money than what the album cost to produce. Chances are, there are only one or two songs I actually like on the CD, and it just isn't worth my 20 bucks. (If I do find that CD, I make an effort to buy it.)
Secondly, small bands who produce CDs are hard to get a hold of in today's pop culture market. The only way you can easily get your hands on their stuff is if you download it. If the music industry in general was so concerned with this aspect of their argument, you'd think they would make more of an effort to make the smaller bands' recordings available to the average consumer who might be looking for something new.
Big bands who have problems with music downloading have more than enough money to afford a decrease in profits. Besides, fans of bigger bands have a tendency to buy CDs anyway, based on the assumption they are getting their money's worth.
Artists such as Bono have made their opinion public that they don't care whether or not you download their songs for free, they have enough money anyway.
You could approach networks such as KaZaA the same way as radio, except with more control. Smaller bands get more recognition through these sites because they are not mainstream enough for airwaves, but popular enough to have a following. Previewing a CD online may influence a consumer to buy it, and burnt CDs usually lack cover art and lyrics.
Of course, there are repercussions downloading and burning CDs. Concert ticket and merchandise prices will increase to make up for lost profit. So either way money will be made. KaZaA will most likely be forced to charge its users for downloading songs and fall to the same fate of Napster. However, another database will come along, and the cycle will start again.
Jessica Nowak, a State News intern, can be reached at nowakjess@msu.edu
