Vote On Network Neutrality May Alter The Way We Listen Online

A look at how the Federal Communications Commission's network neutrality rules could impact online music.

Casey Rae Hunter of the Future of Music Coalition, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, says there has been an explosion of independent musicians who can now reach their fans without a label or radio. "In the old days, they would still have to navigate this pretty complex system of bottlenecks and gatekeepers to reach the fan," Hunter says. "The Internet means that you can develop and cultivate these sort of one-on-one relationships." But Hunter says this freewheeling environment is threatened, and that many Internet service providers, or ISPs — such as Comcast, Verizon and AT&T — would like to have more control over the Internet service they provide to homes.

George Ou, of the free-market-leaning think tank Digital Society, on the other hand, says the wealthier companies like Netflix, Google's YouTube and Apple's iTunes already pay more to get faster service from the ISPs. "The Internet right now has multiple tiers," Ou says. "It's based on fee-based performance where, if you pay more, you get more." Ou says that if the FCC steps in with network neutrality rules, as some public interest groups want, it would harm today's Internet. "They're saying that we want to preserve the Internet, but in fact, what they're going to do is change the Internet such that services like YouTube and Netflix won't work."