Illegal Downloads are KILLING the music
industry
By Riya
Gaglani
Imagine spending blood, sweat, tears and a LOT
of money into making your very own music track, and someone just downloads it
for free. How would you feel?
This is exactly what is happening in this
generation. Illegal downloads and file sharing has become a widespread trend
which is only getting worse. It has become such a casual part of our lives that
we don’t even realise the effects it has on the music industry. But frankly,
does anyone care?
Realistically, if you can get something for
free, then why should you pay for it? This is the mindset of today’s
generation. If you can download an artist’s music for free, then why should you
pay for it? But none of us think about the implications and consequences it has
for the artist and their record label. Phil Sturridge, a local London Record
Label Manager, said “Our profit margin is going out the window with the
increase in illegal downloads. I think there should be monitoring put in place
for such file sharing websites and my job shouldn't be hindered because of a
fault in the system”. He describes how he has to constantly put money in with
very little returns.
A.Star, an upcoming UK artist, said “I have to
keep making free mix tapes to get myself out there and get myself heard. It’s
okay for big artists because they make most of their money from touring and appearances
but for people like me, small artists, we have nothing to fall back on.” Before
A.Star was signed by a small music company, he was on the streets of Camden,
selling his mix tapes for as little as £3 and sometimes giving them out for
free. He also made a point that, “no ones to blame, every job has its side
effects, this is mine.”
A study showed that most young adults and
teenagers (64%) illegally download music through file sharing websites, so why isn't there any sort of regulation put on these websites? There are hundreds of these
websites all over the internet but still there is nothing anyone is doing to
stop this growth. Will this trend continue, or it will it be stopped? Only the
future can tell.
#RG
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