The Music Industry Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Music Industry - Term Paper Example Before the internet had arrived, the distribution of music was done through a few standards. These included CDs in the 1980s and the 1990s and before that, tapes formed one of the important mediums for the transmission of music to the final listener. All these standards had one feature in common. These mediums were traceable, secure and physical. Music theft and infringement was not common. Proper proceeds were given to the recording company, and henceforth to the artist. However, the sprawl of the internet led to websites, which started offering free music, which was available for download for everyone (Burgelman, Year). In this regard, the music industry started losing quite a lot in revenues. Some worrisome statistics will properly paint a picture of the loss of the music industry, because of an increase in digital media. Since peer-to peer, networking sites have evolved, around 47 percent of the music sales in the United States have dropped. Moreover, internet users consume aroun d $7 billion to $20 billion of the music, which is completely pirated, and the proceeds do not reach the right owner of the music. Around 30 billion songs illegally downloaded on the internet, through different websites in a span of five years (RIAA, n.d). ... Lastly, it tries to explain solutions to this problem in this dynamic and globalized world, where information is shared in nano-seconds. Concerning the legal issues involved in the music industry, it is important to discuss the matter of copyrights initially. Copyrighting is a way of providing legal protection, given to different forms of art, especially musical compositions such as lyrics, records and songs. In the music industry, the issue of copyrighting includes protecting the music itself (which includes lyrics and a melody) and the recording (such as mp3s, CDs, cassettes, DAT and other form of recording). If the music is recorded on a tangible medium, the creator has copyright protection. It is more prudent to register with the Copyright office, to gain maximum protection (Lawyers for the Creative Art, n.d). In this regard, distribution of music on the internet, without obtaining the permission from the original owner becomes a copyright infringement. The United States Copyrigh t Act states that the protection of a musical recording applies to sound recording. The reproduction of a particular sound recording forms the exclusive right of the Copyright owner. Infringement occurs when another party reproduces the musical recordings, without the permission of Copyright owner. Much of the music on the internet is obtained and transmitted without this permission. Therefore, it becomes illegal. However, not all the websites on the internet transmit the music illegally. These websites include iTunes, Rhapsody, MusicNet, and Liquid Digital Media among others. When an individual downloads music off this website, he or she has to pay a certain amount to the website (Bass, n.d). The mp3 technology or the