By Kristen Davidson
A music fan from Hayes, Kan., just wanted some music; he didn”t know he would make history for the online music and file sharing industry.
Kevin Britten legally downloaded the 100 millionth song July 11 from iTunes, Apple”s online music store, and instantly won a 17-inch PowerBook, 40GB iPod and a gift certificate for 10,000 iTunes to increase his music library.
Britten isn”t the only one downloading music. People all over the world download music from online music stores legally.
Legal music download Web sites have been growing since the music industry”s battle regarding downloadable music was won in the courtroom following the initial troubles stemming from the questions with Napster earlier in the decade.
According to Apple”s Web site, the 100 millionth song represents “a major milestone for the emerging online music business.”
Twenty-five million songs were downloaded from iTunes during the Web site”s first eight months in 2003.
“The iPod is definitely the top seller of all the MP3 players,” said Julie Bery, supervisor of the Cougar Computer division of the BYU Bookstore. “I own an iPod and use the iTunes program; it”s so self-explanatory to set it up.”
Online music stores are back in business as shown by the return of the controversial Napster site. Napster, which was the pioneer in person-to-person file sharing, returned to have users pay for its music to make the Web site legal. Napster returned to the online scene October 29, 2003, a few months after iTunes got its license for selling music on the Internet.
Students are the most common users of downloadable music, and BYU students are no exception.
Freshman Carlee Porterfrom St. George likes the idea of downloading music online.
“I bought a song online because I didn”t want the whole CD; I just wanted the one song,” Porter said. “I like the online stores because they are cheaper than a whole CD, and you don”t have to pay a monthly fee. You can just pay as you play.”
Even after all the trouble from the music and entertainment industries, downloading music is very popular and is increasing exponentially, according to Apple”s Web site figures.
Online music stores have many different options to appease buyers. Many offer different plans or procedures to follow.
The ”99 cents a song” price is the most popular because it allows users to buy as many or as little songs as they want without a subscription.
Other Web sites also offer a subscription for a set amount each month for unlimited downloads. All options are legal.
Steve Wheeler, a freshman from Tacoma, Wash., said he is happy the music industry and the online stores could come to terms.
“I don”t want to be treated like a criminal, and I don”t want to steal the artists” work,” Wheeler said. “The online music stores make a high-quality solution for both sides of the story.”
