Okay. Would someone please explain to me why this is illegal?

Question

Why is it illegal to download music for free? If I borrowed a CD from all my friends and co workers and copied them and then gave them the CD's back it would be roughly the same thing. Is that illegal too?

Okay, so technically by the letter of the copyright law a person should not be able to purchase a CD and then copy the music to his/her computer to be listened to on an Ipod or another electronic device. If this is the case then the functionality of electronic technology should be changed to prevent the duplication of music period. It does not make logical sense for technology to be created to allow copying of copyright protected music.

Answer 1

Dear Gregory,
Original creative works of music and literature are protected from reproduction by others under copy-write laws. The purpose of the copy-write is to protect the author's claim of originality of a particular piece of intellectual property from being stolen by others. Any original work must be "branded" with the inclusion of ...copy-write 2007. Without the copy-write being in place, anybody can say they are the author. The other aspect of copy-writing is to protect the author's right to receive money or royalties from the sale of the property. Under copy-write it is illegal to copy unless you have the author's expressed permission to do so. These laws are fairly well accepted throughout many different countries around the globe.

Answer 2

This is so simple.

Downloading -

Is only legal if the author of the music intended for it to be downloaded for free from the site you are visiting.

Burning CD's

If you burn a CD for yourself and give away the original, or have an original and burn it for someone else you are stealing. Because, you are giving away intellectual property. You own the CD and the right to use the CD as you see fit. You do not own the property on the CD. And, you have no right to give it away. Much like a book. You have every right to read a book, read it to a friend, give the book to the friend. You have no right to make copies of that book and give them away.

Further, people who steal music are the reason the music industry sucks. Taking chances on small-time, up and coming and unusual music acts in no longer profitable. The Music industry cannot waste money, time and resources on small time groups any longer. Because the big name acts they make money off of are not selling like before, and if any small time acts get large, their music will just be pirated.

SO THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO STEALS MUSIC. YOU HAVE EFFECTIVELY KILLED A LARGE CHUNK OF THE SMALL, LOCAL, RARE AND UP-COMING ACTS IN THE UNITED STATES.

THAT IS WHY YOU SEE THE SAME SIX VIDEOS OVER AND OVER ON MTV AND VH1. AND WHY THEY DONT EVEN PLAY MUSIC VIDEOS ANYMORE.


When Chris Rock called Red Hot Chili Peppers the last great rock band, he wasnt lying.

Answer 3

I totally agree with downloading music for free. Right lets look at the facts...most of the music you can actually get hold of that is easy to download and DOESNT have "not enough sources" etc etc is that of pretty big people in the busness. The more popular you are in the music industry the easier it is to get hold of that music. Also, the more popular you are in the industry means that you have lots more money not just from selling your music but by touring,sponsorships,merchandise...the list is endless. So why shouldnt we get hold of their music for free? Instead of putting money into these guys pockets that will eventually end up snorted up their noses or used for whores! If you are really that upset about it...go to Myspace and download tunes from there. No trouble
I didnt mean YOU the questioner ,if u are upset about it I mean those who are totally against it lol

Answer 4

It's not so much the down loading as the distribution of the CD that's the problem Did You have a few million friends you can borrow a cd from and copy it before the Internet ? It cuts into the profit of the record companies (so sad ;) ) but also hurts the artist which IS bad.

Answer 5

Yes, it is. If you buy a CD, you could copy it onto your computer, or make a tape of it, for your personal use. If you copy a CD someone else bought, rather than buying it yourself, that's the same as stealing the CD, as you now have it without paying the people who produced it. The people who put money into making that music only get paid when someone buys it.

Is it OK to sneak into a movie if a friend bought a ticket? Is it OK to take a shirt from a store if your brother bought a shirt there as well? The bottom line is that music is a product which people own the rights to, and from which they make a profit by its sale. So getting it for free is a crime.

Answer 6

It's supposedly "copyright infringement."

Although I do agree that they need to make some money from the music, bands don't get much of it...as far as I know, most of the money goes to the record company. So the bands can't say you're stealing money unless they put a CD out on their own private label.

Answer 7

Stiggo62 is spot on.If you do it you're stealing but Im afraid I dont feel any sympathy for music companies who seem to have no compunction whatsoever at ripping off artistes who perform and write for them when given the chance.

Answer 8

i agree! it's ridiculous, the record companies are already making MILLIONS of dollars a year and they feel the need to go after people for downloading some songs..

I'm sorry, but I'm not going to pay $15 if i only like one or two songs on the CD..it's a waste of my time and my money.

Answer 9

Okay. Like both instances are illegal because they take from the artist and publisher copyright and royalties that are due them. It is also dishonest.

Okay?

Answer 10

Listen to stiggo62, he's right and beat me to answer the same. But I am not going repeat what he said. Just that he's right!