Vye Music: A 16 Year Old's Protocol for Music Distribution

We all remember the downfall of Napster, the original interface for stealing music. With the continual spread of illegal downloading the music industry is being forced, however reluctantly, to embrace the digital age. I'll be the first to admit I hate to see the vinyl, tape, and recycled plastic disappear from our lives. Nevertheless, the industry can and will fail if they do not embrace new technology. As with any new concept, there are different definitions of the word "embrace." Up until now, executives have wrapped their arms around lawsuits and cozy meetings with artistic rights lobbyists.
Australian native Charles Allatt is shining a new, LED spotlight on the problems with music piracy. The public is forcing the hand of the music industry in making music easier to download. And the public will not be satisfied with a larger selection in the iTunes store. iTunes just bumped prices from $.99 to $1.29. Such a move does not boast well for those in the trenches of the piracy war. Now Vye Music, the brainchild of sixteen year old Allatt, acts as a search engine more or less for online music. Vye is walking an admittedly fine line between theft and distribution. Allatt claims they will avoid court by putting liability into the hands of the file hosts and the downloaders. If a teenager is searching for online music specifically for the purpose of downloading, I doubt they will put much importance on the legality of the site that just produced their new favorite song available for free, no strings attached. There is not enough space on this server to give digital music complications their due attention. For now it will have to suffice to see how the industry handles the increasing popularity of sights like Vye Music.