Nate's Greats: Digital music takes over

By Nate Seltenrich

The recent explosion of digital music has had a diverse range of effects, both good and bad, on the music industry as a whole.

For example, companies from Apple to Philips now offer a variety of digital music players. Pay services have arisen to moderate the downloading and trading of MP3s. New technologies prevent tracks on some store-bought CDs from being "ripped" to a digital format on a computer's hard drive.

But above and beyond these technological advances accompanying the digital music boom, one side effect has been on a decidedly grander scale: the considerable decline in record sales that has taken place over the last few years.

Some analysts predicted a similar situation when blank cassette tapes appeared on the market in the 1960s. Although the popularity of blank tapes for personal music recording was unanticipated by the cassette tape's developers, any impact upon music sales was minimal. The industry charged onward, indifferent to what many feared would significantly threaten the business.

Unfortunately, those who had the same foresights upon the introduction of blank CDs and the expansion of the digital music trade over the internet are today being proven correct. In line with a trend that has been gaining momentum in recent years, there was a 10 percent decline in music sales in 2001. This decline, if unchecked, may come to have adverse effects on the wide availability and low cost (free!) of digital music that we now take for granted, in addition to other possible negative consequences.

So here's my pitch: don't let MP3s replace CDs. MP3s downloaded for free can be used as a supplement to a physical music collection, as a way of having easy access to songs already owned on store-bought media, or as a way of discovering new music and expanding horizons. They should not be an alternative to store-bought music.

Solely downloading music without paying for it or buying the CD is in essence biting the hand that feeds you. A responsible approach to downloading music and buying CDs is necessary in order to support the bands and at the same time to get the most music for your dollar.

Music is everywhere around us. If you don't want to pay for it, don't pay for it. But don't rely upon free MP3s to get your fix, or you may end up with nothing.