They will be able to share music to their friends without limits or boundaries. However, the fact remains that copying or downloading music from the internet is piracy. It is copying without proper consent from the real owners. It is copying and reproducing without notifying the people who have shed great efforts in producing such music. Thus, honor, credibility and integrity of the consumer is being wage.
Music Downloading: Why is it Illegal?
There has been various ways that different countries do to prevent music piracy. In Canada, for example, the government of this country has allowed for the downloading of copyright music from peer-to-peer networks, but uploading the same file to any other software is not. Even recording music and sounds to blank CDs is illegal in this country, and anyone who would be caught will be fined a good amount of money. What is good for this fine is the fact that whatever the amount is will be used to fund musicians and songwriters for to make up for the income they just lost due to piracy (Vangie, 2004).
In some other countries like the U.S., copying or downloading music is extremely illegal. The policy makers of this country even made a code protecting the copyright owners from any unauthorized reproduction, adaptation or distribution of sound and music recordings, and even digital performances to the public. Simply put, U.S. government is allowing the purchase of a music CD and then record it to MP3 files for personal use only, hence uploading these files via peer-to-peer networks is already considered a breach of the law (Vangie, 2004).
More so, the Recording Industry Association of America is implementing strict penalties if the country's copyright law is breached. First time online violation of copyrighted music is punishable of either three years imprisonment and/or $250,000 in fines. Repetition of such violation may cause the offender a 6-year imprisonment (Vangie, 2004).
In other neighboring countries, they also have their own version of copyright laws. But the problem of this all is in the implementation and the seemingly strong-willed or unafraid people who would continuously and unabashedly download music from the Internet, share it to friends,...
Downloading the music from the internet prevents all the members of the music industry - the producers, songwriters and singers/artists themselves - from earning what is due for them. Piracy in this form also prevents the music from growing and developing. Thus, downloading music from the Internet must really be illegalized and wide information dissemination to the public should be made so as to make them realized the impact of doing such activity.
But how can laws prevent people from enjoying without consuming much money? The real cause of the problem is not the advent of Internet phenomenon but the financial aspects attached to buying the original albums. They cost a lot despite the seemingly continuously declining economy of the countries all over the world.
If music can be accessed for free in the Internet, then the music industry should find a way to tie-up with the internet programs so that a give-and-take relationship between the MP3 downloadable websites and the music industry itself will be established.
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