Downloading music eliminates having to drive to the local record store to buy a CD. This not only conserves gas, but also cuts down on the amount of time spent searching for a particular album. In contrast to the rows of artist names in a store, one can simply type in the artist or song title online. Depending on the type of Internet connection, it is possible to download a full album in a matter of minutes. Thanks to high-speed Internet, singles can be downloaded in a fraction of that time. This presents the option to be able to acquire music as often one desires.
Although popular sites such as iTunes and Napster charge a fee to download, it is still possible to download legal music for free. Some of these sites include MP3 Raid, Legal Torrentz and Stereo Gum (see References). For audiophiles who are light in pocket change, this is the ultimate dream. Unfortunately as soon as someone hears "free" and "music" in the same sentence, the quick assumption is that it is illegal. In contrast to pirated music sites, free sites offer music that is either free of royalties or the copyright has expired. Furthermore, some artists like to promote an upcoming album by releasing tracks that are available for free as well.
Although record companies and artists have lost large sums of money as a result of a drop in CD sales, digital music has given artists more exposure than ever. Contrary to the grind of street campaigns, social networking sites such as MySpace and PureVolume have put recording artists' material in the hands of millions of people. Never before have artists had the luxury of presenting material to such a wide and profound audience. As a result, digital music has given underground artists exposure that may not be possible with fliers or word of mouth alone.