Fans of music these days are not exactly getting a great deal. 79p might not seem too much to pay for a digital single release from iTunes but the cost soon adds up, with ten tracks costing £7.90. An actual physical CD might cost £1 or so dearer in high street retailers but at least it is a physical back up which comes with (hopefully) nice artwork rather than the simple binary make up of a download.

This in addition to the fact that we are exposed to more music than ever thanks to multiple online avenues means that desktop PC users are using illegal file sharing in order to collect old hits and new music releases for their collections. The hardly post recessive economical climate and increasing costs of fossil fuels means that most do not have an endless budget to dedicate to their love of music.

It is obvious that music players like the iPod and Creative ranges act as computer hardware and their often huge memory capacities encourage owners to collect as much music as they can. This means that music vendor Apple (and the like) are encouraging the very acts they would really rather did not happen online.

In the UK, the Digital Economy Act aims to severely punish those who take part in persistent copyright infringement online. Certain parts of the act have yet to be approved due to concerns regarding privacy. These concerns have prevented those with the power to access certain data and PC components meaning that it is really hard to enforce the proposals contained in the act.

Music lovers should not be cautioned for the rip-off deal that the music industry provides consumers. Although it would be sensible for the industry to accept that illegal file sharing is always going to occur instead it seems hell bent on punishing the biggest of music fans that actually do put money into the industry via merchandise and tickets for live performances and festivals.