Should Downloading Music from Internet be Legalized?

Should Downloading Music from Internet be Legalized?

Music has become one of the most important part of life to all. Among all the various sources of music the most popular and easily accessible source is the internet. There are so many sites where you can download your favorite music; some examples of these sites are rhapsody.com, emusic.com and music download.com. There are so many controversies about the topic if downloading music should be legalized. As for my opinion, downloading music through the internet should be legalized.

In this competitive music industry, everyday a star is born. So for the listeners, it is not practicable to listen to songs of all the artists; they need to be selective about the artists and the songs. Through the internet, we can download songs of our choice irrespective of the artist and the genera of song. Nobody wants to pay outrageous amounts just for a few good songs on CD. It is so much easier for the listener if they can choose their favorite songs; convert them into the type suitable for them to hear like mp3 or mp4 formats and copy them in their cell phones, portable players or PCs which is so much easier through downloading. It also allows Media companies to make money by selling music files, while allowing users to buy and download their favorite songs without too much hassle. On the other hand, downloading music from the internet can provide publicity to the artist. The labels and artists can publicize their records by making it easier for people to find copy and pay for music on their own term through internet.

There is a myth about downloading that downloading music through internet is causing music slump in the music industry. There is no denying that times are tough for the music business, but not because of downloading. Based on surveys of 1,000 online consumers, we see no evidence of decreased CD buying among frequent digital music consumers due to the downloading; plenty of other causes are viable, including the economic recession and competition from surging video game and DVD sales..."(refrence:www.bricklin.com).In fact, as said earlier providing music through the internet provides exposure to the artists and even increases their sale of albums .If "free" listening is a problem, then radio is much more a factor to be feared because in radios we get to listen songs for free without buying the whole album.
Thus, according to me downloading music must be legalized. However, we have to consider the artists producing the music and thus make arrangements accordingly so that it doesn’t hamper them like : providing free downloads to the most popular songs or the songs whose video are made and charging reasonable money for downloading the other songs of the album. In conclusion, downloading music has benefits for the general public and the music industry as allowing music to be downloaded freely will not only keep people from spending money on music they do not like, it will also increase overall album sales and create a wider public interest in certain types of music that are not as widely known and downloading music is much more practical than purchasing it at a store.