if you sell music online that's easily available at a fair price, people will buy it. it is time for all artists to make their music available to online music sellers/downloaders. if they do not people will continue to take their music for free. that's not ok, it's illegal and it steals form artists and record companies. but until now the artists and labels have given fans little choice. cd prices are too high and legal online offerings have been limited and restrictive. artists and labels have encouraged dishonesty rather rhan provide music fans the opportunity to buy the music they want, in the format they want, at a fair price. the music industry has long feared new technology. in the 1980's, industry chiefs resisted the introduction of cassette tapes and cd's. in 2002 a lawsuit by the recording industry association of america (riaa) forced napster to shut down. the riaa has now taken to subpoenaing individual file traders. suing potential customers is a dubious business strategy. it only turns young music fans against the record companies they imagine as heartless corporate behemoths. but if illegal downloading is wrong, so is criminalizing music fans. the best strategy for artists and labels is to make all music easily available online at a reasonable cost. as any fourteen-year-old kazaa user can tell you, getting music isn't the problem. the issue is whether they get it free or at a fair price.

 

this editorial was written by jann wenner

of rolling stone magazine.

 

music is the rythm of the soul that feeds the heart.

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