There is no denying online song-swapping is a clever idea. Services like Napster pioneered the concept where users store music they want to share on their hard drives and can access other fans' drives.
But by cutting out the big corporations they are accused of harming musicians as smaller bands and artists depend on record sales for an estimated 60 per cent of their income.
Many people in the industry see illegal file sharing as theft. Julie Harari, spokeswoman for the International Federation for the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), says: "Most people would think twice about going into a record shop and stealing CDs, yet they think they can sit at home and do the same over the internet.
"Not only that, but they are then distributing it to hundreds of thousands of people. The term file-sharing sounds warm and fuzzy and people like the thought of music being free. But the bottom line is, you're taking someone else's product without permission and effectively removing their livelihood."
Forced out
Caroline Elleray, the Manchester-based head of A&R for BMG Publishing signed Coldplay in Manchester at the In the City conference in 1998.
She said: "I think there's something to be said for putting snippets of songs free on the internet if it tempts people to buy records. But I don't think you should give music away completely free - to do so infringes the artists' intellectual copyright.
"They have to have some kind of recompense for their work or they won't be able to make a living."
And bands who don't make enough through shows and merchandising could be forced out of the business.
According to research by the British Phonographic Industry, there are around eight million downloaders in the UK alone, 92 per cent of whom are breaking the law by not paying a penny.
"CD sales are the main source of income for record companies," explains BPI spokesman Matt Phillips.
Only one in 10 albums makes any profit, much of which is reinvested into breaking new artists. But these commercially palatable acts are being hit by file-sharers and their album sales are falling.
"If labels have to cut their rosters to save money, many great bands of the future won't get signed. We're proud of our musical diversity in this country, so that would be disastrous," Phillips adds.
The industry's approach is to warn, warn again, then prosecute. On Monday, the IFPI started legal proceedings against 247 song-swappers from Germany, Italy and Denmark, in the biggest crackdown on web piracy outside the US.
"Sixty-six per cent of Europeans are aware that file-sharing is illegal, so the problem now is more one of attitude," says Julie Harari. "Some people will just carry on because they think they can get away with it but three-quarters of the music available illegally is provided by just 16 per cent of users and these are the people we're going after to begin with.
"If we deal with this hard core of up-loaders, we should hopefully have some effect."
Last week, the BPI began sending instant messages to people offering music files on the internet, reminding them they may be breaking the law. Legal action is likely to follow.
Not everybody agrees, however, that song-swapping is causing the industry's woes. The same day that the IFPI launched its legal campaign, research was published in the US that questions its effect on record sales.
University researchers tracked 1.75m file-swaps, comparing the songs downloaded with the sales of the albums on which they were released. The effect, they concluded, was negligible.
And Malik Meer, features editor at the New Musical Express, thinks the record industry has simply failed to keep up with the public.
"The industry must learn to embrace change," he says. "We're seeing a cultural shift in the way we consume music and record companies should be exploiting that rather than suing music fans."
The healthy sales of gadgets like iPods - portable music players that can store up to 4,000 tunes - and MP3 players prove how vast the potential market for legal digital music is.
But record companies have been slow to adapt and now they're finding file-sharing makes attracting investors tricky.
However, despite the recent downturn in the industry, Caroline Elleray remains confident that CDs are not going to be dropped forever by penny-pinching record labels.
"Yes, the industry is changing," she says. "But not beyond all recognition. And anyway, music lovers will always want to have a collection. You can't very well rifle through someone else's iPod, can you?"
What do you think? Should we be able to download music free? Are CDs too expensive? Let us know your views. Write or email to Postbag (see Page 42) or go to mancheronline.co.uk/entertainment
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When we, the general public, buy CDs etc we see, to be buying what the music industry wants to sell us and not necessarily what we really want to buy. If bands were good enough they would make it. Take, for instance, Decca's decision not to accept, offer a contract or promote The Beatles, how the world would have lost out; which proves my point. Much to Decca's chagrin the company was ultimately proved incapable of spotting a good thing, even when it came knocking at the door. What happened to discovering new talent then?
As long as people have voices, music will be heard everywhere if it is good enough.