Buying Music over the Internet

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the issue of buying music over the Internet and the problems with it. It discusses the anti-trust issues that have arisen and how to deal with them. It also examines the issue of who really "owns" the commercial product which is music, whom does this belong to? How can musicians and record labels receive benefits from their works if the music is bought over the Internet from an e-commerce site. It discusses music downloads over the Internet and its problematic issues as well.

From the Paper:

"One of the most controversial issues in the music business today is the issue of selling music through the Internet. The ongoing and evolving process of selling and disseminating music through the Internet has provoked a number of economic as well as artistic debates for the music business and for the computer and technology businesses that allow such technology to be accessed. This paper will address some of these concerns with a particular focus on the anti-trust issues that have arisen over the course of this debate. First of all, the issue of disseminating music over the Internet provokes the perplexing question of who really "owns" the commercial product of a pieces of music, anyway. Is the owner the person or persons who simply hear the tune and keep humming it? Is the owner the musician who produces the product? Or are the owners the music companies musicians have signed artistic rights to? Clearly, to survive musicians must be able to charge for the product they produce, and the companies have control over the specifics of how to market that product. But once a song is in the public sphere, do not consumers have a right to "pass on" that music product in ways that they see fit, even if those ways may inhibit the sales of recordings of that music?"

More papers on Buying Music over the Internet:

• Case Study # 66516 : "Apple's iTunes Music Store (iTMS)"
• Analytical Essay # 138716 : "Downloading Music from the Internet"
• Essay # 28806 : "Music on the Internet"

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