Music artists' albums aren't supposed to be available to the public until their official release dates, but countless CDs are prematurely leaked online, available at no cost to anyone with an Internet connection.
Although students are not allowed to engage in file-sharing activity through UF's Internet networks, it is easier than ever to obtain pirated music.
"I'm broke," said Victor Ho, 20-year-old engineering sophomore. "I never buy CDs."
Ho and many other students heard Drake's new album, "Take Care," before its Nov. 15 release date when it was leaked online.
"Free" music is so popular now that it is rare for a rap or hip-hop artist's music to not be prematurely released, or leaked on the Web, before its scheduled date.
Although LimeWire is no longer available for music lovers to use for downloads, there are hundreds of music blogs where fans can directly download music from their favorite artists for free.
Some artists, like Wale, a rapper from Washington, D.C., who performed at UF earlier this year, purposely release free music to their fans on Twitter or Facebook.
"It's just the age we grew up in," said Scott Salzman, 19-year-old comptroller of Student Government Productions at UF. "Artists have switched the revenues that they use to gain their money from. Now it's more about online support, merchandise and shows."
Salzman said he believes that big-time artists don't necessarily need to make sales from CDs in order to be rich and famous.Students are more likely to show support and appreciation for favorite artists by going to a concert or promoting them on social media sites.
"It's not like how it used to be anymore," he said. "It's not as traditional as when everyone ran down to Spec's to pick up an album."
Aditya Pamidi, co-founder of production company Wayward Minds and a UF graduate, said although he thinks CD sales are important, artists' concert performances generate much more revenue and allow them to reach out to their fans on a more personal level. He said if an artist is a good performer, he or she could be "very rich."
"If you do it right, there is plenty of money to be made elsewhere," he said. "I think college students rarely, if ever, buy music."
With cheaper prices for shows, more fans can come out, and more money can be made from merchandise sales.
Unsigned artist Mac Miller, who charges about $30 for performance tickets, recently had the No. 1 album on iTunes with his album "Blue Slide Park."
Artists who charge lower prices for shows are the ones seeming to stand out on the hip-hop scene, Pamidi said.
"I think it has proven that your live show is way more important than before," he said. Pamidi said that at the end of the day, the people who buy CDs will still buy CDs, and the people who don't buy CDs won't.
"Every single album leaks," he said. "I work very closely with lots of people who love music, and none of them buy CDs." Check out these stats below showcasing sales of leaked albums.
