I am not truly sure I understand what all the debate is over music sharing. After all , back in my youth we shared music all the time. Of course, we did not have fancy names for it, we just took all the best songs from different albums recorded them together on a tape and there it was, a mixed tape.
I do not remember there ever being a controversy over sharing my music with pals. We all still acquired the albums, or cassettes or CDs and then we turned them into mixes with the best songs. No one ever charged us of stealing from the artist or the music biz. And, we certainly never thought of ourselves as music thieves. Boy, things have really changed.
So, what’s the buzz on free MP3 downloads really all about and why does it seem everyone’s talking about it, but nobody really admits doing it? I even read about a 12-year-old girl the music industry sued for unlawfully downloading music. Her ma and pa were liable in the case and the music biz claimed this kid, a 12-year-old, owed ,000 dollars in royalties. No wonder parents fret about the free MP3 downloads their kids are getting.
The free music download craze actually started with the invention of the MP3 format. This technology makes files really little and is what lets us download music so quickly. And, even better, as the files are small we can store masses of them on our computer, great little portable music devices ( also known as MP3 players ) and even cell phones.
of course, the big issue the music industry has with free MP3 downloads isn’t the file layout or where the tunes are stored and played, but rather with where the music was obtained. Its something about paying music royalties to the artist and recording label. So, the issue the music biz has with free music downloads is really all about where the music comes from. As it seems, downloading from a bonafide music site, for example emusic.com, is perfectly legal.
The sticky part comes when we swap or share music on non-licensed sites, ( sometimes called P2P for P2P ), or burn it onto CDs and give it away. Sadly for teenagers of this age it turns out that making mixed tapes and CDs and giving them to chums isn’t such a good idea after all.
thanks to the impact that free MP3 downloads and file sharing have had on the profits of the music industry, which they claim have plummeted, the trade group that represents the most important recording companies, has begun to bring lawsuits against anyone who illegally downloads and swaps music.
So, free MP3 downloads are legal, as long as they’re obtained from legally approved sites and not from unlicensed P2P sites. But , taking those downloaded files and turning them into great mixed CDs as gifts for your buddies, not so legal.
Tags: fancy names, free music downloads, mixed tape, mp3 format, music biz, music devices, music royalties, portable music, share music, wonder parents