The Confusion Surrounding Music Copyright Law
Because there are so many different ways to get free music from the Internet, there has been a lot of confusion and conflicting views about what is legal and what is not.
“Okay, so it’s illegal to burn one copy of a CD and distribute it. So you’re telling me I can’t burn a mix CD and give it to some of my friends?”
“It’s illegal to download free songs from peer-to-peer websites and servers, but can I download my friend’s song via Dropbox?”
This type of song copying and distribution leaves many feeling that the laws are vague and outdated, which is why they continue to download music illegally.
The increasingly popular “YouTube to mp3” technique, where you take the mp3 file from a video someone posted of a song, has only added to the problem.
Is that illegal too?
We’ll see.
The FBI Warning
You know how when you’re watching a movie on a DVD (for those of us who still do that) and the familiar “FBI WARNING” pops up on the screen telling you that the material is copyrighted and it’s illegal to make unauthorized copies. authorized for such material. material of any kind… etc.
Well, despite what some outdated articles say, this copyright law (or Internet piracy) also applies to music.
What does that mean?
Redistribution of any kind, without the consent of the artists, is illegal. And if you participate by knowingly downloading music that is distributed without the consent of the artistyou are participating in an illegal activity.
This IBM article compared using these third-party sites just to rip music from YouTube, to “using cassette tapes to record songs from the radio.”
And peer-to-peer servers, as well as other websites that technically don’t even host the files on their website, continue to engage in this illegal activity, and copyright companies will continue to crack down on this in the future. exercise.
Are there other options?
Yes. You are not without hope. There are so many options. Honestly, with all the options out there, it’s surprising how many people still work so hard to download free music (well, there aren’t that many). I remember those days, myself.
And I cringe at the thought of once again having to edit the properties of each individual song to make it clean and tidy on my iPod.
Never more.
While you do have the option to subscribe to a music streaming service like many do, if you want to continue listening to your music very cheap If you don’t have an Internet connection and want to own the songs you’re listening to, I recommend a service like Mp3million, where you can download songs for five cents. These types of sites are legal as long as they pay royalties on the song licenses. And with that said, hopefully you’ll be on your way to continuing your music downloading lifestyle without (too many) interruptions.