June of 1999 marked a beginning of a new era in music and the reason was not a band or a song; it was the creation of the peer-to-peer online music service called Napster.

Users were suddenly able to share music with others over the Internet for free.

Napster’s creation and 2001 demise resulted in a complete change in the culture and business of music.

With this newfound market and source for undiscovered music, the influence of Internet assisting the spread of talent can’t be denied.

According to Nielsen SoundScan’s report, which tracks and reports music sales in detail, sales of physical albums dropped 20.7 percent in 2009 with 209.9 million total sales compared to 2008, with 249.6 million physical albums sold.

But the sales of digital albums rose: 2009 reported a record 76.4 million albums sold, which is a 16.1 percent increase compared to 65.8 million in 2008.

“For a new band just starting out, it is a blessing. There is not faster or better way to get your music out to the masses,” said Zach Carothers, bassist for popular indie-experimental band, Portugal. The Man.

He considers the Internet a way to promote a band and their music in a way that wasn’t available before.

“It brings people into your shows and that’s where you prove what you do matters,” Carothers said. “Sure, you won’t get nearly the records sales, but that won’t make a difference until later in your career anyway.”

Some students suggest that the price of physical albums effects their decisions.

In a survey of 41 OU students, less than 5 percent of students polled purchase albums from retail stores.

“Since CDs are so overpriced, in my opinion, there’s no way I could find all this good new music without spending a ton of money,” junior Sara Szilagyi said.

While the digital age of music has done a lot of for the spread of new acts and talents, it also has brought the wide spread of crime in the form of music pirating.

“Music has always been free with any radio, so I think it’s hard to adjust to paying for the convenience of using it on different devices,” Szilagyi said.

In the survey, 75 percent of students admitted to illegally downloading music regularly.

“Music downloading is hardly considered illegal in the general opinion,” Szilagyi said. “I think the first time you download a song, there’s a little pause of your conscience reminding you it’s wrong, but because of the frequency it’s possible without any punishment, people easily get numb to the idea of ‘stealing;’ it hardly feels like physical stealing.”

Even if the mass of the population partakes in theses acts, justifying pirating music as a common accepted practice is a dilemma that may be ignored by students.

“I think the issues are so important,” said Phyllis White, professor of MUS 339: What’s On Your Playlist. “I created a course to be certain we had a forum for (these) kinds of conversations.”

The class discusses in detail ethical issues within the music industry.

“I think legal sites where you have to pay money like iTunes should be used to download music,” senior Kristin Totoraitis said. “It’s important to support the artists whose music you’re downloading.”

Almost 20 percent of Oakland students surveyed purchase their music through outlets like iTunes, where most tracks cost around 99 cents.

As music industries see the mass flux in the sales, there are other resources to support artists, even if you do download illegally.

“There are many different ways for a fan to support a band they love,” Carothers said.

Supporting an artist or band doesn’t always have to mean always spending money.

“One guy may download music, but pay for a ticket every time they come through town. One may collect vinyl, one may Twitter non-stop and another may be into merch. As long as you do something to help your favorite artist, it’s OK with me,” Carother said.

Some artists, like Carothers’ Portugal. The Man, openly support the downloading of music but bring up an important idea that puts the reality of the risk-free music pirating on a personal level.

“If you love a band and want to see them continue doing what they do, and you still want them to come through your town often to play shows, support them, in any way you can. It’s an investment into something that you care about.”

While the market suggests that digital album and track sales will continue to rise, we all have to come to terms that this is the new standard.

“The Internet isn’t going anywhere for a while,” Carothers said. “Whether you like what it’s done to the music industry or not, we all have to adapt to the future of music.”