JEDDAH, 10 August 2003 — Since its early days the music industry has relied on the sale of records — first vinyl, then tapes, CDs and MDs. But the Internet is changing all that. People around the world are now able to own the music without paying for it. All they need is an Internet connection a CD writer and a blank CD to download music.

They can do this without license or permission from the record company.

Saudi Arabia’s young generation is joining the free music club, especially now that free downloads are available for Arabic songs as well, and more and more people are becoming familiar with the technology. Two major factors are encouraging young Saudis to do so: Easy availability of affordable hardware on the one hand, and on the other the difficulty many experience trying to buy music by their favorite artists from local shops.

The trend is beginning to affect local businesses. The manager of a leading record store chain, who asked to remain anonymous, told Arab News: “We do admit that free music on the Internet affects our sales not only in the Kingdom but throughout the Middle East. People are very well informed. These free downloads at the moment affect only the sales of Western records. Arabic music is still selling because of the limited number of sites that provide Arabic music.”

The source said the reasons for the trend were twofold. “There are people who prefer not to pay for records because downloading the music costs less than SR10 while an original CD coasts SR55. Then there are people who do want to buy an original CD — I call them the collectors — but even these collectors are sometimes forced to download music because of the regulations of the Ministry of Information. They give the green light to CDs three months after the release if at all, which makes a lot of people download the record before it arrives.”

Asked if the record companies were working with the Internet regulators in the Kingdom to block the free music sites he said: “We’ve never approached them but I think this could be a very good idea.”