Digital downloading has drastically changed the way the music industry operates. It has revolutionised the way music is purchased, but has also lead to the ever growing 'culture of piracy'. Illegal downloading has provoked many legal battles over copyright and has also highlighted its hypocrisy; it's illegal to download music that someone else has shared over the internet, but is sharing and burning cd's illegal?
The music industry is taking the brunt of illegal downloading, as people find easier and cheaper ways of obtaining music, they are neglected their royalties. Stealing music is not bad for music itself, but bad for the industry. This can be seen by Radiohead's album Kid A, which downloaded illegally, became their most famous album in the U.S.
Ian Condry explains that there is no way to stop unauthorised copying and claims that “downloading music is ethical provided we support artists who are important to us”.
It is interesting that you effectively make a distinction between the health of the 'music' industry and the 'recording' industry, as one could argue that the former is in a very healthy state at a time that the profits of the latter have fallen.
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