01 Sep  Most of these companies sold music without any copyrights from

 Most of these companies sold music without any copyrights from the  authentic Electric and Musical Industries Ltd. The phenomenon of illegal  downloading spread like wildfire due to ease of access and zero cost.  This resulted in huge losses for the music industry. The industry had to  act quickly as sales at retail CD/DVD shops plunged at an unprecedented  speed. It could either fight against the latest technology, or adapt to  it. The initial response was of resentment. Representatives of the  music industry stormed to fight against this latest innovation which,  according to them, threatened the very existence of wholesale and retail  CD/DVD shops and stores. However, they soon realized that the internet  served as a huge opportunity for private owners to reach a much wider  audience if they channelize it properly. Consequently, attempts were  made by the music industry to offer all the music tracks through  internet by creating legal websites in order to make sure that the  consumers could access them anytime from anywhere and avoid the dilution  of the music industry resulting from illegal downloads. Online albums  of renowned artists were made available through legal websites. The  availability of music online via legal means proved to be the saviour  for the music industry which had suffered considerably as a result of  piracy. Hindrances: Despite this bold step, the music industry failed to  gain expertise on how to utilize full potential of the internet as a  result of technical difficulties. Formats of music files varied and  website owners who had supplementary products provided a format of music  only compatible with such supplementary product, e.g. the Apple iTunes  store provided music formats that were only compatible with the iPHONE.  Songs of other file formats were needed for other music players  resulting in significant inconvenience. The Way forward for EMI: 1)  Availability, Security and Adaptability:- EMI must overcome the issue of  incompatibility if it is to prosper in the online music sales business.  The instinctive suggestion is to ensure availability of music in all  formats. however, with significant patent laws and legal intricacies in  place, it is important for EMI to measure each step when moving forward.  The first step is to ensure an online facility that has a fully  functional payment system, a method to keep a count of sales, consistent  checks on potential violation of patent laws across the internet, and  availability of technical personnel to ensure proper functioning of the  system and availability of songs in all formats. Such technical people  may include college graduates or free lance workers who have the  expertise to toy with file formats and convert a specific file into a  highly compatible and generic form. 2) Marketing and Promotional Mix: –  The internet shall be the main medium to market EMI’s online facility  due to convenience and a lower cost. Several specific modes such as  social networking websites and viral marketing is extremely essential to  attract customers who are hooked to pirated songs. EMI shall also take  steps to move towards a gradual transformation towards the internet in  terms of remitting official patented songs along with DVD/CD stores.  This step is extremely important as the entire functioning of the music  industry hinges upon it.