impact illegal downlodaing has on the music industry

According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), 30 billion songs were illegally downloaded between 2004 and 2009. Even with sites like iTunes and Rhapsody offering legal downloads, peer-to-peer file sharing still exists. Illegally downloading music has had a significant impact on the music industry resulting in a loss of profits and jobs, and changing how music is delivered to the masses.

music sales in the United States have dropped 47 percent since Napster first debuted in 1999. The availability of free music has cost the music industry $12.5 billion in economic losses. To recoup some of these losses, the music industry has filed lawsuits against individuals who have been found to have illegally downloaded music. In some cases, individuals have been sued for thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars.

impact in the future

The artists who make the music lose income because of illegal downloading. If the customer doesn't pay for the music, the record company doesn't get paid, and thus the record company cannot pay its artists for the download. This can discourage artists or cause them to seek other ways of making money besides focusing on music, such as going on tours, starting side businesses (like clothing companies) and seeking product endorsement deals.

Counter arguement

Contrary to the alarming claims of the music industry, illegal peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing can actually boost compact disc (CD) sales. For example, research shows that a major segment of file-sharers, or “samplers,” usually purchase an album on CD after downloading a few songs. It also demonstrates that P2P promotes albums as radio stations do: file-sharers typically download chart hits. It is recommended that music companies and record labels monitor P2P—instead of discouraging it—to devise new, effective promotional and marketing strategies.