Downloadable music has been available for the past decade. Folks used to set-up FTP servers to trade digital downloadable music in the form of an mp3. FTP users would provide visitors a list of mp3’s that they were looking for and downloadable music that would be available in trade.
In the new millennium, peer to peer (P2P) networks began to gain popularity. Just like a Google search bar, P2P music services offered users the ability to gain access to downloadable music at the click of a mouse. Because P2P networks allowed all internet users (not excluding the less technological savvy users), the music industry and artists saw P2P as a threat. The ease at which internet users were able to download mp3’s and other downloadable music stemmed a series of lawsuits via the music industry.
Today, the history of lawsuits makes internet users think twice before downloading mp3’s or other digital forms of downloadable music. The user experience of the P2P networks had been so positive, that today’s legal methods for streaming or downloading music offer the same search and access functions. Today for a low price ranging from $10 to $15 a month, users can have unlimited access to streaming music and downloadable music.