Has youtube.com replaced file-sharing technologies for previewing music? In my last post I discussed how as an individual I would use file-sharing technologies as a means to preview music. That may not be the case with some people, but commenters on the blog mentioned they too used these file-sharing programs as more of a preview than a means to an end. However, now when I want to listen to songs by an artist rather than downloading a few songs off of Limewire or another program I just type the artist into youtube.com and in many cases a whole catalog of the artists songs come up, free and readily available to listen to!
Youtube.com is the space for funny videos made by average people, professional music videos, bad paparazzi moments caught on tape, and so much more. Recently I have noticed when I want to hear a song by an artist I may get a few returns with the actual music video, but often there are user made videos, for songs that do not even have professional videos. Many times these videos or photo montages of the artist, or the lyrics of the song, but one thing is clear, they were most likely posted because people wanted to hear the song, for free, on Youtube.
So for me the days of illegal downloading are gone because Youtube affords me the opportunities to listen to songs of artists for free. I’m sure it won’t be long until this method of displaying content will come under fire from artists and recording companies, but as of now it is legal, and so far seems socially acceptable. To be honest before this discovery I was still a user of Limewire, but now that most songs are made into videos on Youtube I haven’t open my Limewire program once! Also Youtube is quick and easy access, a lot easier then the old illegal file sharing days of waiting for a song to download. In my opinion, besides the fact that you can’t put songs or videos from Youtube onto a CD or Ipod, there really are no cons.
So here’s a challenge for commenters…go on Youtube…type in an artist, band, or any musician you’d like…and see how many self-made videos have been uploaded for that artist. For many it will be too much to count!
Youtube, Napster, Limewire, and even Myspace are great for emerging artists. A band from DC named All Time Low got most of their popularity from being on myspace and getting their music to the masses. Many acts that aren't well known can use these sites to get their music to the people. I do not know if they really affect the larger artists as much as some think. Youtube has a feature that allows the artist to disallow a song being used without their permission so I do not see the current format changing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that YouTube is a great way to access and listen to music for free, it isn’t illegal and you don’t have to worry about getting viruses from bad files. Pandora is also a great way to get music for free. You can listen to Pandora on your computer at home. You can even download applications and listen to it on your phone.
ReplyDeleteOh I forgot about Pandora! That just gave me a great idea for my next blog!! Thanks!
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