Napster appeared  late in the nineties boasting free music by file sharing. The creators claimed it was totally harmless and not violating copyrights. At the advent some industry insiders said that file sharing programs would help record stores in the long run; claiming that they would bring in people who downloaded a few songs and decided the album, sort of an appetizer to the main dish. However since the beginning of the "File Sharing" era (2002-Present Day) it has not been the chain stores that have felt the biggest blow, it is the independent record stores of America. Since 2002 over half of the independent record stores in America have closed down.

            The reason that chains can stand to take a loss on CD's is that it allows them to try to get you to make many other impulse buys, a new boom box for your CD, an MP3 player for your CD to be on. They can lose money on CD's and still make money because of all of the other impulse buys. Independent record stores, in general, don't have that luxury. When your downloading your not taking money away from Walmart, they could care less, most mainstream musicians wont care because they are going to make their money any way. The person who your really killing are the non chain stores. The stores where you can walk in and be surrounded by people who have an interest in keeping music alive as it is. The place that's run down with posters from local artists taped on the walls. The place where the old vinyl smells almost as fragrantly as the insense emitting from isle 3.  Downloading music off the net is stealing, it's the bottom line. You are taking something that you didn't pay for and making it yours.

 If you are going to choose to steal at least have the balls to walk into a record store and slip it into your pocket, look the clerk in eye as you walk out. Make sure you can do it to a person instead of to your computer screen.

-Nebagaman, sound off