In the old days, the only way to get your favorite pop song was to walk into a music store and buy a CD. But nothing stays the same in the world of technology. When you talk to people today, they are all getting their music from the Internet. The result is that many music stores are experiencing dropping sales, and can often be virtually desert.

Nowadays, it seems everybody is downloading songs as digital files from the internet and listening to them on MP3 players and cell phones. Anybody who still buys their music from a store is regarded as a dinosaur!

In fact, in the US, the list of the most popular songs is now based equally on sales in music stores and on the number of songs downloaded from the internet. Recording companies have recognized the importance of this new way of distributing music and everything you could possibly want to hear is now available in digital form. From the latest avant-grade groups, to the most obscure medieval church music, there is always someone ready and willing to record even the most unusual piece of music and upload it onto the internet.

Of course everything that can be downloaded ton on computer can also be downloaded to another illegally, and it’s free to trade music tracks with your friends. But some musicians aren’t happy about this because it deprives them of royalties. They believe something should be done to prevent what they feel is basically theft.