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What is a Music Download?
A music download is the process of transferring a music file from someone else’s computer, via the internet, to your own.
And that someone’s computer will usually be a music provider, such as Napster, and your computer will then be used to listen to the music, or ‘load’ another device for listening, such as an MP3 player. And with the growth of mobile computers and smart phones with Broadband internet access, the file can be downloaded too many more devices than before.
Nowadays the downloading of files is a very popular way of purchasing music and with annual revenues of over $2 billion, it’s increasing its share of the music market, globally, to over ten per cent. Recent reports suggest that in 2006 well over 500 million songs were bought off websites. And that even more impressively, some five billion tracks were swapped on peer-to-peer websites.
The country which has the highest number of digital download purchases in the world is Japan and the best selling single there, and for that matter the rest of the world with over seven million legal downloads, is Utada Hikaru’s Flavour of Life.
Ironically, music downloads have not only proved a superb commercial success, they have proved a nightmare for the music industry in not only having to try and stop illegal downloads of expensively produced music, but also in the way it has changed the music industry forever, allowing many groups to bypass the music producers and advance their own careers.
And the question of illegal downloads and illegal sharing of music files has become a preoccupation of the whole industry. Millions are lost by music companies and artists alike and one notable campaigner against such internet piracy, The Recording Industry Association of America, is said to launch over 700 legal actions a month against people downloading music without paying for it.
But the digital download explosion has most importantly allowed artists not only greater creative freedom, but also greater business freedom. Many of the established groups now dictate how they want their own music marketed from their websites. And, potentially, anyone with a claim to be a artist can promote their talent and wares on the internet.
Some artists will give away their music via downloads, or offer previews, or provide low quality giveaways in order to generate interest and promote their music.
The aptly named punk outfit Bomb the Music Industry have released five albums for free via their website and Tom Fox, a solo artist, has also given his music away for free, achieving over one million downloads.
And some artists have managed to give away their music for nothing despite instructions to the contrary from their record companies. One example is the album With Teeth from Nine Inch Nails which went onto their My Space page before being officially released.
And as a sign of their acceptance at long last, downloads are now being incorporated into the main charts in the U.K and the U.S. especially.
So, the music download is here to stay and will play an increasingly important role in the music industry.
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