The year was 1999. It was Christmas day, the day I was to become a “cool kid,” the day I got my first CD player and CD. Although her lyrics were a bit provocative for a six-year-old, my parents chose Christina Aguilera’s debut album (the one featuring “Genie in a Bottle”) to have the honor of being called my first CD.

For years after that, it was all about buying up the latest CD and keeping up with the Joneses. Sharing CDs replaced trading Pokémon cards, and envy was felt upon seeing racks and racks of CDs at friends’ houses.

That was a different time.

Flash forward to 2012, and the concept of the CD seems prehistoric. The CD, now 30 years old, no longer gets VIP treatment. A new CD now gets an eye roll and comments such as, “You went out and actually bought a CD?”, “You actually wasted your money?”, or “What were you thinking? I have these songs. I could have sent them to you.”

Most people agree that CDs are overpriced, bulky, and that it is simply more convenient to go online to obtain the latest songs. Whether those songs are obtained legally or illegally is up to the consumer.

Everyone knows that downloading music from the internet without paying for it is illegal. Tales of ridiculous fines slammed down to grannies and young teenagers alike for illegally downloading music have circulated the media through the various media outlets. Despite this, the illegal downloading persists.

Much like speeding on an empty freeway or littering a banana peel when there is not a trash can around, there are some laws that people seem to not take as seriously as others. Illegal downloading seems to fall into this category for several reasons.

Some people argue that the music industry makes enough money that they will not notice if there is an illegal download or two. Others state that music costs too much and that illegal downloads are too easy to come by to pass up.

That being said, illegal downloading hurts both new and lesser-known artists. These artists should earn every cent they can from their music because they are the true talents of the industry, unlike other people who call themselves artists and just repeat words such as “swag” throughout their songs, believing they are lyrical geniuses.

However, BBC quoted musician Ed Sheeran, who said, “There’s a decent balance – you can live off your sales and you can allow people to illegally download it and come to your gigs. My gig tickets are £18 and my album is £8, so it’s all relative.”

While illegal downloading hurts music sales, Sheeran has a point in saying that if illegal downloading gets fresh ears to concerts, then he is not too upset about it.

If an established artist is truly concerned about illegal downloading, then they should lower the costs of a music download. Otherwise, they should take the matter lightly. At the end of the day, they are still rich and getting new fans that they would not have gotten otherwise, even if it is through slightly illegal ways.