Big Surprise: Digital Music Sales Triple in 2005 but listeners stop listening out of fear

Digital Music Sales Triple in 2005

Yet that's not enough for the greedy fat cat music executives because although listeners are buying more music online overall music sales are down. Don't need to look far to see why:

"Consumer research in the IFPI report indicates that every second person who cut back on illegal file-sharing did so out of fear for the legal consequences."

Fear.

"Fear. Fear attracts the fearful. The strong. The weak. The innocent. The corrupt. Fear. Fear is my ally." - Darth Maul

It appears that the music industry is working in the same way as the Sith!

Fear is not a good way to increase sales!

There are some seriously wrong things going on here. I don't agree musicians being robbed of their right to make money from their work but targetting individuals who download music illegally is really pointless. All it's doing is turning the general public against the record labels. If the music industry was seriously concerned about piracy they'd go after the Asian gangs who run a huge industry making millions of $$$ out of piracy.

The truth is that while in the short-term music sales may have dropped the increased interest in music, generated through the boom in music downloading, will in the long-term be a good thing for music in general and the bands who play the music. The real villans here are the music tycoons who've robbed many bands of their livelyhoods and have run a cartel which rips of the consumer.

How are gadgets involved? Because without the iPods and the Internet the coming revolution would not be possible. Yet we stand on the brink of a revolution in the music industry. The opportunity for music to be made, distributed and listened to without the need for the middleman and his evil ways.