downloading and the industry

It's been years now but I remember when Napster first came out, people immediately got busy downloading as much as they could. I didn't care how much time it took b/c I was a teen at that point and I loved my music. I also thought that it wouldn't last b/c this is America and nothing is for free. Then one day I remember that it became illegal to download music for free and lawbreakers would be found and penalized under the "no electronic theft act." People continued to download, knowing that it was now a crime. Then people started to download these “spoofs" which are advertisements or horrible screeching noises that disrupt the song. This made downloading discouraging so I guess the idea worked. I thought that this was a dirty approach to maintain record sales and revenue but I realized that the record companies thought that this was the only alternative. Naturally I was frightened by the thought of going to jail and losing all the money that I didn't have so I stopped… Then there was Kazaa, Lime wire Winmx, and all the others. These programs were and are very tempting, and no matter what efforts the RIAA pursues, new programs and technologies emerge. However, companies were sued; Napster was shut down and later reopened with a subscription service offered to music lovers, along with others that came along like ITunes. Other file sharing programs that refused to conform to subscription services and fight for free music in the end were abated. The record companies won out and the programs were shut down and still are. So why are all of these extremes being taken? Well maybe music is being made for the wrong reasons... If there were no record companies, no RIAA, BMI, or ASCAP, it's possible music artists wouldn't be sitting in the top 5 list of the wealthiest people in America. Some music artists make a ridiculous amount of money. Artists could play for the fans, they could maybe travel around the globe and have a completely different lifestyle, they could sell their cd's to people at live concerts, find new opportunities and endorsements from using technology. With that said record companies shouldn’t be fighting this new wave of technology; it is just another way for them to make money. Ring tones, iTunes, and file sharing cost money, and everyone gets a piece. That’s vertical integration for you. Everyone helps everybody as long as it’s good for the head companies. Also, on that note when you download a song it’s not like the cd- quality you would get if you bought the original. Copying music seems like a part of music history, b/c that’s all it comes down to, making the music and getting it heard. People have been copying cassette tapes, cds, and movies, for years. The only difference between the copying now and the copying then is it wasn’t monitored; not visible to the public eye like the Internet is. Record companies do not like the Internet b/c it is a true path for change. They are stuck in the Stone Age. With technology comes evolution, and that is inevitable. The RIAA should accept and embrace technology to entice the consumer and bring them back with new things to use and new alternatives.