know1

Depends on the country you live in. There are a few countries that have banned protest or anti-party (party as in government) music. But I think you are inadvertently blurring the line between music as a tangible commodity and music as a concept.


If I loaned you a brand new Honda Civic and you were able to make and exact copy of it, would that be fair to Honda or me (the one who paid full price)? More over, if my car was in fact already the 100th copy of the original, and you could still make an exact copy of it that was 99.9% accurate to the original--what then? Who is accountable? That is what digital media brings to music. It erases the physical aspect and turns ownership into intellectual property. If I can make a digital copy of anything and everything, does that mean I own everything and anything?

People have taken 80gig ipods and filled them with digital copies. Now assuming that at least 25% of those 80gigs are legit (Itunes) then 15,000 songs, or around $15,000 (Itunes prices) have been taken out of thin air. That's about the price of a Honda Civic. It would be equally absurd to pay $20,000 to fill your Ipod with music, but my explanation is only for the argument of digital vs analogue duplication.

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Soshi Kitai

Agreed.
All I have to say about the absurdity of paying $20,000 to full an iPod with music is this: Like the music? Support the artist. They need money, too.



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._. Ummm... I know I could probably just tell this to your face (talking to you, hun), but I'd rather "support the artist" of this topic by replying via comment!

Anywho... anything downloadable (for free) via the internet/copying from a CD that isn't your's/and etc, is considered illegal.

Stick to buying CDs or off of sites that support the artist.

Some artists allow you to download their music for free...
Some more complicated artists allow you to download their stuff if you provide them with a code from a CD you've bought...

If they allow it, it's not illegal.

Can't tell if it's illegal or not? Read the site rules and fine prints.

Some sites allow you to download their stuff for free and IT'S LEGAL! How? They are charged by the companies certain percentages in order to give it out for free... in other words: They're practically a media-charity.

Now, I know another question could be is "how can I put movies in my Zune/iPod if they're not on the internet? I have the dvd... so... is it illegal to download it for free if I bought it already?" ..
Answer:
1. It's considered illegal, since you're still supporting a site that gives these things for free.
2. You shouldn't feel too guilty however... if they try to hunt you down, you can try to show a proof of purchase for your product, and maybe they'll let you off.
3. There are programs that can turn your dvd movies into files on your computer. A legal copy of that product is expensive if it's good, an illegal one can be cheap as free.
4. There are sites where you can purchase the file off the internet and download it. Still supports the artist if they paid for it themselves, I suppose.

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