Illegal Downloading: Is It All Bad?

All the time you hear stories about bands who are losing so much money due to illegal downloading of their music. Their CD sales are dropping, and these bands are losing millions of dollars due to illegal downloading sites. But in reality their are a lot of pros to these downloading sites, in light of all the negatives.

By being able to download music off of the internet people are broadening their music tastes ten-fold. If it weren't for these illegal downloading sites I know I wouldn't even know half of the bands I now listen to on a daily basis. When one of my friends comes up to me talking about this band I have never heard of, I go check them out by downloading a few songs off of Limewire.

Peronally I don't like spending my money on the CD of a band I have never heard of, for fear I won't like them and that I will waste my money on a CD I'll never listen to again. So when I hear of band X, I'll jump onto Limewire and download a few songs off of their album to see if I like them. Then if I do, I'll go out an buy their CDs.

By having music so readily available to the mass public, bands that may never have made it big, are being listened to by millions of people and having their records bought. Illegal downloading sites on the internet are increasing the fanbase of bands all over the world. Thus making bands go from local or national to international within months.

Also where these bands are losing money with CD sales they are earning it back in concert revenue. Suddenly thousands of people around the world who otherwise would have never heard of a lot of these bands are waiting to go see them in concert. Bands are selling out shows and earning back a good portion of the money they lost on their lost CD sales.

So while illegal downloading may cause a little disruption in the music industry, their pros often can outway the cons. Because of these sites their is a band out there for everyone, and their songs are at our fingertips. Fame is now getting closer to reality for rising bands, making our world a more open place for all types of music.