Now listen to this If someone were to ask what someone's favorite music is, what would the likely answer be? It's impossible to say. The levels of variation within the music offer a wide range of options. You might love acapella, afro-jazz or even heavy death metal. Music has developed to become a cornerstone of entertainment around the world through all its variations. This has allowed music to expand into many different aspects which have sparked frequent discussions about the industry as a whole, particularly how it relates to society. An intriguing and bold take on the music of an earlier era, around 400 BC, comes from the Chinese philosopher Mo Tzu. His writings highlight his belief that music should be completely abolished and that it serves no purpose for society. Mo Tzu's view that music is not beneficial to humans can be used as a lens to perceive the music industry in today's society, which ultimately calls for the need to remove music from the world. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayA glaring issue in the music industry is the decrease in artist pay in recent years. In Mo Tzu's piece, "Against Music," he states, "they must impose heavy taxes on the common people before they can enjoy the sound of large bells, spinning drums, lyres, and flutes" (Mo Tzu 237). He believes that men in power should raise money for others to have music. Therefore, music should be eliminated because ordinary people have to support it through taxes. Today's artists act figuratively like the common people of Tzu's time. They work hard for their music but see little to no reward for it. On the surface, the decline in artist compensation appears to be contributing to the ultimate elimination of music, but the bigger picture shows otherwise. The industry is shaping itself into the hands of those in power, such as record labels and large corporations. This reflects the times of Mo Tzu, when power was in the hands of the rich. Music should be permanently eliminated if it continues to divide our society into lower and upper classes through the hard work of musicians. They are feeding and lining the pockets of record companies while receiving little or no benefit, as demonstrated by the words of Paul Weller, a prominent member of The Jam: "I can't think of any other job or art form where people don't they get paid." for what they do” (Timburg 1). On the other hand, it can be argued that some bands are making millions of dollars, which destroys the whole argument. It's true that some artists make a lot of money, but only a tiny population does. According to Tunecore, “99.9% of all artists fail to make a living from their music” (Resnikoff 33). So less than a tenth of a percent of musicians earn enough money to support themselves, so relatively no one earns a significant amount of money. This shows that there is barely a middle or upper class for musicians, and that lower-class musicians shoulder most of the work, but receive little to no compensation. As recording revenues continue to decline and the music industry continues to distance society from democracy, it should be carefully scrutinized and ultimately eradicated. Looking at music from Mo Tzu's perspective reveals serious moral issues in today's industry that are often overlooked. Mo Tzu's question, when referring to themusic, "does anything to save the world from chaos and bring it back to order?" reveals a big problem (Mo Tzu 238). Not only does music do nothing to save the world, but today it does the opposite by pushing the world towards chaos. This combination comes to light especially in the last two decades, when music has rapidly moved towards extreme immorality and vulgarity. A recent song, titled "My Nigga," peaked at number nineteen on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, simultaneously selling over one million copies on its way to platinum status. Along with the title, there are numerous expletives within the song that should not be repeated. This would not have been tolerated in the past and illustrates the music industry's moral drive towards extinction. Another wild example of immorality occurred at the VMAs in 2013. Miley Cyrus outwardly displayed risqué behavior in her performance, so much so that it attracted national attention. Actions like these are great examples of why music should be abolished just as Mo Tzu warned. In essence, it pushes our society towards blurred and difficult to resolve boundaries. An additional moral issue presented by music is corruption. Many companies in the industry care more about their own well-being than about individuals and go to great lengths to ensure their success. One example is Spotify, one of the biggest and fastest growing names in music. There are many rumors and reports that Spotify is shorting artists who stream music on their platform in order to maximize the initial deal it made with Sony. Taylor Swift and Rihanna, two of the most popular musicians today, have both removed their music from Spotify, further fueling the idea that Spotify is corrupt. Calculations indicate that the suspicions are well-founded and in the next few years the public will have a definitive answer as to whether or not Spotify sold millions of dollars short (Ulloa 8). Even if Spotify is later proven innocent, there are still enough glaring problems around to sustain the cloud of uncertainty engulfing the industry. Examples of these include piracy, intentionally leaked music, inflation, chart manipulation, etc. Looking at the question posed by Mo Tzu reveals that music in no way manages to pull the world out of disorder and ultimately aggravates the problem. The music must be stopped before the world descends into disaster and further corruption where morality no longer exists. Today's companies and services, like Spotify, increase the availability of music immensely. You can access music anywhere, on almost any device, and all at an affordable price. You can purchase CDs, music from iTunes, purchase a streaming service, or download illegally. The latter options are inexpensive and allow more people to listen to music at a higher frequency. It seems like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, yet it's a problem. Mo Tzu supports this problem with a specific scenario: "Now, if those who occupy the position of rulers and ministers love music and spend their time listening to it, then they will not be able to exhaust the strength of their limbs" (Mo Tzu 239). Go on to show all the other tasks that would be overlooked because they like music. Therefore, as opportunities around the world to enjoy music increase, there will be abundant neglect of duty. This is a serious problem. It will affect everyone, especially the younger generations who have not seen anything different. Today, middle and high school students, and sometimes even college students, unplug from it all by plugging in their earphones and listening to their favorite artist. That is.