Downloading Music

Napster, WinMX, and other peer to peer networks

Not too long ago, an outfit named Napster was all the rage.  WinMX and other file sharing (peer to peer) software allowed you to go online and find someone who had a song that you like, and download the MP3 copy of it to your computer.  Many people ended up with thousands of their favorites songs that way and the music business will never be the same.

The problem with this as Napster found out, is that when people create copies of music and give them to someone else without the owner's permission, it's called piracy, or legally... theft of intellectual property.  Many people still don't agree with the court's ruling, but it applies and is now enough to be the basis for getting you in loads of trouble.  The courts also made it clear that anyone helping to do that would also be held accountable.  That meant Napster.  

That doesn't mean that it still isn't being done.  It's going on every day.  What it does mean is that if you do it, you are at risk for being sued (and probably successfully so) by the music industry.  And if your minor kids do it on your computer, you can also still be sued for some pretty serious dollars.

Few articles are written on this anymore, but that doesn't mean that the industry has gone dormant and is leaving it alone.  It just means it's old news.  However, there are many cases that are being won every day in amounts of $12,000 or more.  Even at this, it is quite a bargain.  Copyright law allows suits up to $150,000 per incident for copyright infringement.  

Legal music downloads

This does not imply that all music downloads are illegal.  What it means is that in order to stay out of trouble, you must either pay for it, the music owners must give permission, or the music must be in the public domain.

Pay for play - you can either pay for the song (generally from (.75 to $1 each, you can pay for a monthly license, or you can buy the album and make duplicate copies for yourself.  You just cannot transfer them to someone else.

Permission rights - When bands are brand new and trying to gain attention and distribution, it only makes sense that they give their music away.  A few consummate musicians do as well simply because they want their music heard.  But in each of these cases, the owner of the music must explicitly give their permission.

Public domain music - this is generally pretty old stuff.  Copyright laws vary and have changed quite a bit, but essentially, anything recorded before 1922 is in the public domain.  Otherwise, little will enter this public domain till about 2022.  

The only exception to this is the afore mentioned music that the authors have released to the public domain.  Once this is done, work cannot be taken back out of the public domain and protected under copyright again.

Note:  Nothing here should be construed as legal advice or counsel.  If you have legal questions regarding your activities or are thinking of breaking the law, you should seek paid legal help.  You will need it.  

This is presented for discussion purposes only.  If you do something stupid or against the law, it's your responsibility and the consequences are yours... only yours!