1. Anthony Bonanni

2. Introduction  Traditional way for artists to make money was by revenue from album sales.  Album sales are decreasing yearly.  One of the main reasons for this is the illegal sharing and downloading of music.

3. Napster  Napster was a free, online service used to share music between members.  Violated copyright laws, were liable for copyright infringement.

4. Copyright Laws  Current copyright laws say that the writer of the songs have the right to them.  No need for conformation with copyright office.  The law says that the copyright owner has the right to sell the songs for profit, or to license someone else to (record labels).

5. Costly Marketing  A record label’s primary duty is to promote albums and help artists gain popularity.  Costs around $400,000 to get one song on the radio.  Other costs that an artist has to pay are studio time, people employed to help produce album, and initial money from label to produce album.

6. Marketing For Free  Free music online can be available for anyone to listen to and try out.  Fans that like the music can tell other people, so they can also try it out for free.  This increase in fan base can lead to higher revenues.

7. Concerts  Generally the highest revenue method for less popular bands.  More people will buy tickets after listening to the artist’s free music online.  2007 was the 9 th consecutive year that North America saw all time highs in gross revenue for all concerts.

8. Merchandise  Brings in less revenue than concerts, but offers more options to customers.  One option could be to hire a design company to make the artists clothes.  With more appealing clothes being worn by fans in public, other people will see the artist name and will most likely look them up online for downloads.

9. Conclusion  Free music allows artists to have a cheaper and more effective way of marketing their product.  Allows more people to listen to different artists that they probably would have never known to listen to if they had to buy albums.  Concerts and merchandise are much better sources of revenue for a band. It is only useful to have one copy of an album, whereas it is normal to go to many concerts and buy many merchandise items.