But there's definitely no feeling of sorrow for them. For years, these companies have inflated the price of CDs astronomically to watch the bottom line grow. The artists see very little revenue from CD sales, so the vast amount of cash that consumers dole out for CDs goes into record label profits. Not only that, but it's now almost impossible to buy just one song. Now, this doesn't anger me too much because it's business.
All companies are in the business of making money.
There's now a challenge to the predominance of the industry, and because of the record companies' shrewd business tactics, consumers and artists alike are having few twinges of remorse in flocking to the music revolution. While many artists have backed the record industry in its attempts to shut down sites like Napster, others have embraced the new technology as a way to connect with their audience as never before. Upstarts are especially pleased with the new music medium since it gives them a way to promote their music without having to hammer their way into one of the big labels. The technology really does hold great promise for the industry, if it has the foresight to work with it. The hope is to make the site into a legitimate, legally operating service by generating a revenue stream so that artists can receive their royalties.