Digital music players caused a furore when they first arrived on the scene, as music moguls everywhere feared that without the need to purchase a hardcopy of an album, consumers would enjoy artists' hard work for free, and the profits derived from an enormously lucrative industry would be depleted in a serious way. A few years on, it's obvious that the industry of music creation hasn't collapsed under the weight of such digital music players as the iPod, which holds a ninety percent share of the digital music player market. But now, it seems, another area of the music industry is in fear of its life.

You may have heard the term 'iPod wedding' being bandied about, but rest assured that humanity has not yet lost all respect for the sacred bonds of marriage and begun to indulge in formalized commitments to their electronic gadgets. The term, in fact, refers to the new, money saving trend of ditching the wedding singer or DJ in favor of another musical mediator. Newly wed couples are now celebrating their nuptials to the sounds that emanate from their iPods.

And with the expense of weddings rising, seemingly, every year, who can blame them. To have a live band play at your wedding can cost upward of a thousand dollars, while a DJ can cost less, but not much, at a price tag of about six hundred. For many brides and grooms, the opportunities for cutting financial corners are slim, with many couples unwilling to compromise on other such other wedding essentials as the rings and the bride's gown. Setting up your iPod then, with its enormous capacity for storing a huge variety of songs, to take care of your music for the occasion seems to make a whole of sense.

There are a multitude of other advantages to choosing an iPod as your wedding day entertainer. The newly married couple are free to choose precisely the music they want played at their special event, without worrying about the weird and wonderful tastes of a band or DJ. An iPod is also around half the price of a DJ, and as the couple can use it after the wedding for their own personal use, represents a double bargain. With the giving of favors to wedding guests a popular tradition, a wedding iPod is also a wonderful favor for the couple to give themselves, allowing them use and enjoy every day an item that is likely to evoke wonderful memories of a happy day.

An iPod is an ideal way to save money at any big occasion, and allows you to share the music you love with the people you care about. But while the iPod is a powerful tool, DJs and bands shouldn't throw in the hat just yetthe iPod didn't kill the music industry and with the continuing popularity of live music at weddings, it's unlike to ruin their business either.