Once upon a time not long ago it was easy enough to find whatever free music you wanted online. You could access thousands, hundreds of thousands, of files with no hassle. Those were the days. Unfortunately, music artists and record labels want compensation for their work. Who would have thought? The mass of lawsuits and website dissolving that have occurred over the last decade has made it more difficult than ever for followers to enjoy their artists online. The new wave afterwords was towards subscription download sites. At least with these sites users are guaranteed high quality downloads with their purchases. Many sites also offer free trials where you’re allowed to download as much free music as your heart desires for the allotted time of the trial. But is free music really that important to the consumers anymore? Business of subscription sites such as Kazaa and iTunes suggest not. People are more than ever concerned with the availability and quality of what they want, when they want it, 24 hours a day.
In the past people may have used free music to venture into genres that they wouldn’t otherwise visit. Why buy albums from artists you don’t know, not knowing if you’re even going to like them? Wouldn’t that be a total waste of money? At the very least, consumers should be able to get some tracks or at least a preview of entire songs, or the entire album. Many aspiring artists are also realizing the fact that to get their names out there in the industry and get a fan base, they’re going to have to offer some free music. Some artists allow downloads from their own websites. Obviously they’re intending on capturing the site guest and convert them into a loyal fan. I think in the future some artists will continue to offer free music if only for promotional methods. There are many artists that have given out free music via CDs or downloads from handing them out or directing people to certain websites. What better way to get more followers? More followers bring more bookings, more appearances, more shows, more exposure, more publicity, more money!
The forefront of free music downloading has to be able to offer something extra for consumers. Kazaa and other music sites have a plethora of artists and albums in every genre ready at users’ fingertips. Music players and search bars, pretty graphics, playlists, endless downloads. There are some music sites that allow users to log in and listen to free music via streaming. This isn’t downloading, and the user won’t be able to save the songs onto their computer or browser, but they can listen to endless amounts of tracks and favorite what they prefer. Some sites even allow a handy playlist application which will save your tracks in specific lists or orders, to your liking. Is this enough to satisfy the ever-hungry consumers, the hard working artists, and the greedy record labels all at once? Perhaps the answer is the live streaming. Artists don’t give out their music without compensation, record labels have to deal with less contractual issues and lawsuits, and consumers are able to listen to endless music and expose themselves to new artists and albums at no risk of wasting money.
