Well...that's if you want to call it 'change.' I say this because it isn't actually the digital social music websites that are changing the industry...the industry itself, is what is actually changing.

The music industry, in actuality, is really the fans. We are hypnotised into believing that 'the industry' is the radio stations, major record companies, and the artists who they enslave, oops I mean, sign to the label. But the reality is, those of us who love, listen to, and purchase music, we are the industry.

So when we change, the music industry changes, because 'we' are the industry.

Because of the changes that we have made in how we like to recieve and listen to music, the rest of the music business has to adapt. We are a generation of digital people who like to live in a virtual world. We spend hours everyday on the computer, and on our fancy IPhones and Blackberries.

Combine that with the technology people who develop these things as well as the hackers who lead companies into new technologies, and throw in a little bit of 'lazy' labels and artists who are too scared to be creative so they give us the same music over and over again, and don't forget the fact that we get tired of getting cheated out of our hard-earned money; and now as a result you have a world where music downloads and websites where you can listen to free online music are common.

When I say 'they' I am referring to the major labels and artists who are suing young kids for piracy. Do they really believe that this is going to stop it? Are they seriously expecting 16 year old kids to come up with hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay back damages? These are the same artists who perform for no less than $50,000 or more, and complain about the blood that they put into the music and how it's not fair for these young kids to get it free.

Number 1: The kids did not invent the technology, they just use it becaue it's what they know.

Number 2: If we want to talk about 'blood' let's talk about the thousands of soldiers overseas right now who are shedding blood in a senseless war so that we can continue to create our music. What are they getting out of the deal?

"Aaron, you don't understand! How about if you put your sweat into something and people got access to it in this way?" to which I reply, I am a full-time music producer who produces and creates music not just for other artists, but also for myself as an artist, so I see both sides of the equation.

I am not saying that artists should not be rewarded for their work, as a matter of fact, I totally believe that we should be compensated for the joy our music brings to the world.

But...What I am saying is this:

The music game has changed, and the model of profit needs to change. I strongly believe that there is a way for artists to give music away, and actually make more money than by doing it the typical CD way.

But again....they just don't get it. So they will continue to try to shut music websites down and sue the kids who use them, until someone comes out with a web application that favors both the fans and the labels/artists.

...Then you must create really great, consistent music, that justifies them spending their money. I have heard so many fans complain about wasted money on CD's. This is the process:

1. You hear a hot, slammin' new song by one of your favorite artists on the radio

2. You get notified of when the album is coming out, so you save your pennies

3. The album comes out, and you stand in line to buy it

4. You pop it into the CD player with excitement and hit the 'play' button

5. After going through the whole CD, in 5 minutes, you discover that the song you heard on the radio.....was the only good song on the album
6. You heart begins to fill with rage as you realize that you just wasted your money in the amount of the cost for a full CD, just to get one song, that you could have heard for free on the radio everyday
7. You decide that next time, you're not going to be so naive, so next time you go online to check out the album first.
8. If the album is good, then you buy it, but if not, then you just get the 1 or 2 good songs you hear on it in the form of music downloads.
9. Before you know it, you haven't actually bought an album in months, years, and in the case of young kids, probably never.

The record labels seem to be stuck in the old way of being profitable. But what happens when your model for being profitable...stops being profitable?

In the world of business, companies who face this issue either change the model, or they close up shop. So why are the record companies, who are in business to make money, so ignorant to this truth?

It seems like they think their new model of profitability is to sue kids and charge music sites ridiculously high licensing fees. Seems like they're turning into the IRS: they wanna sit back, let the new sites and artists go out and work hard, and then they collect ALLLLL the money.

Hmmm....sounds like a pimp to me, which would describe the IRS and some of the shiesty Record Labels...but that's an entirely different article altogether.

Television and radio, have for years, made their profits by letting users listen and watch for free. Think about it, when do you pay to listen to the radio? When the news comes on, do you send your local news station a check? All you pay is your bill to the cable company who facilitates your ability to watch. But what about if you didn't have the premium channels of cable and just watched old fashioned television with an antennae? Who do you pay?

The stations make their money from the advertisers who's commercials you have to watch and listen to while you enjoy the program. So if this model has been so profitable for tv and radio networks for decades, then why can't the 'music industry' learn how to use it?

The fact is, that music downloads are hear to stay, and people are going to listen to free online music, and more websites are going to show up that allow users to listen to free online music.

So now is a time for Record Companies to either joing companies like JamBuzzer.com, or phase out of existence like the dinosaurs.