Download Music vs. Buying a Cd

Downloading Music Versus Buying A CD

Advancements in technology over the last decade has made purchasing music as simple as clicking a button. There was a time when the only way to purchase music was by walking into the store to buy it. Different music media has changed during the years. Vinyl changed to eight tracks, eight tracks changed to cassette tapes, and cassette tapes changed to cds, but the popularity of music has not. Downloading music has become the leader in purchasing music, but is it the best way? Depending on the music fan, both ways seem to be up to the consumer.

The first major concern for the consumer is the cost. With the economy on the downslide, consumers are pinching their pennies and trying to find cheaper methods of owning music. An economical solution to this is to download music off websites such as I-Tunes and Napster. There is usually a minimal fee for each song you want to download. The fees range from ninety –nine cents up to two dollars depending on the site and popularity of the song(s). Sometimes, you can download these items for free if you know the websites where people share music such as Limewire, but you also have to worry about getting viruses from these sorts of sites.

      However, with buying a cd, the price is higher because of the people involved in the promotion of the music with consideration to the packaging and shipping costs.   These costs include the money to pay someone to promote the album, the artwork, the plastic sleeve, the wrapping, and the disc itself. Companies have to ship the items to the stores which may or may not cost extra. Many people enjoy the pictures and artwork that is included with a cd. People want to have the touch of the sleeve, the look of the pictures, and the lyrics inside. The higher price lets them sing along with their favorite song and feel like they are part of the musical experience. Most people think it is worth it to pay the extra expense just to have it.

      Besides...