The issue of copying MP3 files over the Internet raises many interesting ethical issues for fans. While it is extremely convenient and cheap for a fan to obtain all of the songs that he wishes over the Internet, a fan is in fact stealing from the artist when he obtains a recording of a song for which he has not paid. In a study done by VNU Entertainment Marketing Solutions, sales of CD's within 5 miles of college campuses, where the vast majority of Napster users reside, declined 4 percent over the past 2 years. ( Kane ) It is possible that this theft could reach a point where the artist loses all his incentive to create music, and then the fans would be left with no new music. In order to prevent that disastrous outcome, fans need to consider what is proper use of the artist's work so that the artist is properly compensated and continues to produce high quality music.
One of the reasons that people seem to be so willing to download pirated music is that many people feel that they are being ripped off by record companies when they pay upwards of $18 for a CD when the consumer may only want only one track off of the disc. ( Barry ) MP3's allow a fan to obtain exactly the songs that he wants, but unfortunately there is no way to properly compensate the artist for his work in this case.
The challenge for the record industry is to find a way to supply the fans with the digital MP3's that are obviously in demand while properly paying the artists so that music continues to be made. There currently is no system in place that seems to be able to solve this problem in a way that satisfies all parties involved.