Downloading free music. Options

[GothpunkGClover]

Why is it illigal, should it be legal? give me you're thoughts.

[flaymzofice]

if they didnt want it to be legal they shouldnt have programs where people can d/l things.

That's like what someone else said before; tools exist which can facilitate murder, but which of course, is not the purpose for which it was intended. Does that mean murder should be legal?

do you know how much money van gough got for his art? i'm pretty sure he got none. if you're in it for the money you're not really an "artist" in my opinion.

The term 'artist' has been semantically extended to include those beyond painters. It is well accepted that art increases with value posthumously so this analogy fails on custom.

Now...the RIAA...im against them. Yea..free music should be illegal..but the way they're handlin it is totally wrong. Suing college kids, uploading fake music, and threatening to shut down kazaa n morpheus...thats stupid. they should just support iTunes or somethin like that...and not resort to force.

It's a few against many; as many others have noted, there really are very few options open to them in terms of enforcing the law. It may seem like bullying what with a big corporation targetting a population notorious for having very little financial means to begin with, but they are the primary culprits. You're hardly going to go after an accomplice when you can get the murderer himself, right?

As for why it's illegal, well, kryogenix has already explained that all creative works are intellectual property. Why do you think some of the layout designers here at this very forum, get pissed off when people jock their code and steal their layouts without giving credit? It's ignoring the initial effort, time and inspiration behind the product.

Copyright laws have formally existed since 1911 but the idea behind it goes back even further. Laws have simply been amended consequently to encompass the development of the digital era.

People have mentioned a compromise; well what do you think software such as iTunes is about? $.99 for a song is pretty damn acceptable if you ask me. Obviously when you hold it next to free, it's never going to measure up but if you made the downloading of all music legal, where would you find the deterrent against mass exploitation? Some people have said they do fear being caught and punished; floodgates will be opened for DVD copying to be made legal and all other forms of creative work, which begs the question: where does one draw the line?

As you've basically all said, downloading may be illegal but the majority of you still do it and I admit that I do too. It's just convenient. Simple as. Why get dressed to go out to a shop and buy a CD when you can lie in bed and have the same songs in your hands at the click of a few buttons?

I think it's important to point out that musicians/performers may be 'overpaid' but it's not through royalties. Concerts and touring are indeed a huge part of their income but it's sponsorship which really lines their purses. Just look at all the endorsement deals Beyonce has under her belt. If the sponsoring companies think the performer is worth the amount they're being paid in endorsements, then the sponsored party is hardly going to ask for a reduced sum, are they?

The real victims of our downloading culture are new and upcoming artists who require the capital recording companies invest to develop their music. By taking away from recording company profits, we're actually hindering the success of undiscovered and unsigned talent. Case in point, Misteeq, a UK R'n'B/Garage girl group had a string of hits here in the UK and were on the brink of breaking the much coveted US market when they were dropped from their record company...who had gone bust. Yes they could have been signed by another company if they were 'that good' but the point is, they were denied continued success because they were without a recording company to back them.