Originally Posted by SprintHawk

Yes its a crime. Its like walking off the newsstand with a magazine.

Originally Posted by hkobb7

Some of these artists are so greedy and self-centered that they deserve to be stolen from.

Originally Posted by dmann

I'm suprised there isn't a thread on the subject.

So whadda yathink? Is it a crime? Is the music business to blame? is radio the problem?

How do you hear new music if you can't find it any other way? If you end up buying the CD after sampling a bit of it (for free).....what's wrong with that?
Alot of CD's suck and turn out to be a waste of money.

Originally Posted by perdidochas

Downloading music from commercial sites like Amazon.com, I-tunes, etc. is a great thing.

Downloading copyrighted music for free is essentially the same as theft.

Originally Posted by dmann

actually...all artists don't. I see your logic. but, never-the-less. i want to hear more than one song before I start throwing down 20 bucks for a CD. So i will continue to download. if I like it...THEN...I will buy the CD. I got real tired of hearing a song I liked , dropping 20, and finding out it didn't work as an album, or that that song was the ONLY song that sounded like that, or that that song was the only good song. That, to me, is ri[pping off consumers.


what protects us from terrible music?

Originally Posted by WafflesFTW

Alright, the answer to your question is simple. Downloading music IS a crime. That's is not the true question however. The real question is whether downloading music should be a crime or if it is "wrong."

My personal belief is that downloading music is not "wrong." Why? Well, why not download music? You are simply organizing bits on YOUR hard drive, in a fashion YOU want. I think the "intellectual property" crap is BS. The main reason for private property laws is to prevent two individuals from using the same resource. However, this "intellectual property" can be used by many individuals simultaneously. Hence, intellectual property isn't really property. The property is the ACTUAL hard drive/CD. The order of bytes on your computer which matches that should NOT be considered property, because YOU bought the disk, and organized it how YOU wished. Yes, it is against the law. But is it "wrong"?

Originally Posted by SuperDinoYoshi

My personal opinion is that the record corporations need to stop complaining about people illegally downloading music when they don't offer a viable legal alternative.

If I buy a song from itunes, that song will only work on my ipod and computer.

Originally Posted by SuperDinoYoshi

If I buy a CD I can rip the songs put them on a plethora of portable devices I have, play them on multiple computers, bring them to school computers, use them in projects and videos, and just about anything else I could think of. If I download a song illegally I get the benefit of freedom in how I use the music and I get the convenience of using the internet.

Now if Record Companies were smart they would offer super-high quality songs free of DRM for reasonable prices, then I could understand their legit frustration with illegal downloading.

A bigger problem is all of the people downloading software and computer games illegally. If that catches on, companies are going to stop making the programs and games we love and cherish.

Originally Posted by hkobb7

Why are people so pissed?

Some of these artists are so greedy and self-centered that they deserve to be stolen from.

Others are nice enough that they should not be stolen from.

My main point is that music is overpriced, and if the music industry does not fix its act, then things like Limewire should be used to bring the price down.

Originally Posted by perdidochas

That's easy to say if you're not a musician or a programmer that relies on the income from the intellectual property. Of course it's wrong to copy music that you have not paid for permission to use.