Janis Ian has written a lengthy but interesting defence of MP3 sharing (saying, amongst other things, it helps smaller artists get exposure) and attack on the music industry.
It’s true that the music industry does not seem interested in using the Internet effectively as a promotional tool or to cut out the cost of distribution. But it is also true that 1) it is hard for the industry to figure out how to “cut the cake” of earnings in this new business environment, so “official” music sharing software tends to be experimental and offer only fragmentary access. And unfortunately 2) a widespread and well-marketed move to paid-for music downloading even at low cost might not stand much chance of success if a parallel system of easy to use totally free music download software exists alongside it. Some say that this would not be a problem, but if I was a music executive I would not be much interested in betting my company on it!
(Thanks to Harald for the link)
