Essay Draft

How music downloading is affecting CD sales.

I have chosen the topic of music downloading and the effect it has on CD stores and artists; who need the sale of music throughout stores. I will be analysing the options of simply downloading a 4 minute song, through p2p file systems like Limewire and Bearshare rather than purchasing a $25 CD from a store.

Para 1 – General Back information towards the issue
- The current situation of pirated music.
- Different Countries and their situation with downloaded music.
- Statistics of downloading throughout different ages.

Para 2 – The cost difference between downloading and purchasing music.
- The cost of downloading music, internet costs and download limits.
- The cost of downloading several songs from various artists rather than buying all the different albums.

Para 3 – How the music stores are suffering because of the online music downloading.
- Research on the drop off of CD sales since the likes of Napster and p2p file sharing came on the scene.
- The effects on jobs in the music sale industry because of online downloading.

Para 4 – How the production of CD’s is decreasing, and the emphasis on p2p file sharing programs is increasing.
- The introduction of various p2p file sharing programs.
- The basic commands of the programs in downloading music.
- The CD stores have branched into other areas like DVD’s and movies.