Very much has changed about the way businesses and people in society handle their work and personal business. With the introduction of advancements in technology, a great many improvements have been made that have benefited us and helped improve our quality of living. The internet, for example, has greatly revolutionized the way we retrieve information, and it has also expanded our ways of communicating with one another. What could only be done through landline phones can now be done over the computer via instant messaging, chat rooms, and video conferencing.

How we communicate and how we conduct business are not the only things that have changed. One sector that plays an important role in a lot of people's lives has also made great strides in technology. That sector is music and all things that are related to music.
The way we listen to music has changed, and the way we record our music has also changed as more instruments feature better ways of recording. From instruments to the very songs that we listen to, technology has definitely changed the way we utilize these things in our everyday lives.

First came the 8 track. Then the cassette tape. Then the compact disc, and now music is downloadable via the internet. The usual cost of a single song is about 99 cents, but some sites will offer whole albums at a discounted price, and sites like Zune allow unlimited downloads for just a few bucks every month. There is no need to buy an actual compact disc at a record store anymore, which has affected music stores nationwide. Many big music names, such as Wherehouse and Virgin, have shut down many, if not all, of their outlets.

The other bad side about digital music files is the issue of piracy, and it has cost many musicians millions of dollars in lost sales. File-sharing programs and sites are readily available and accessible by just about anyone who has access to a computer and the internet. Thus, these files can be uploaded onto a computer and shared freely over these file-sharing sites and programs. At the expense of musicians, all it takes is one person to buy these files, make them available on these sites or programs, and virtually anyone can download them.

There is no way to monitor each individual who downloads files that are protected by copyright laws, and it is up to the individual to decide whether or not they will or will not use these file-sharing sites or programs for their music.

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Tags: mp3, ipod, music, technology, digital, itunes, iphone, piracy, player, zune