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by Melissa Gale

Melissa Gale- Personal Opinion

All of us either know someone who has downloaded songs without permission or have downloaded free songs ourselves. The question is whether or not downloading these songs is wrong. Depending on whom you ask you will get a different answer. Some people feel it is illegal and wrong while others feel it is okay to illegally download songs.

Even music artists are mixed on their answer to the question of downloading. Shakira, a popular singer, has been quoted saying, “I like what's going on because I feel closer to the fans and the people who appreciate the music... It's the democratization of music in a way. And music is a gift. That's what it should be, a gift,"(popeater.com). However, the RIAA feels a different way. The RIAA is an organization that works hard to keep the music industry thriving. The RIAA says:” In support of this mission, we work to protect intellectual property rights worldwide and the First Amendment rights of artists; conduct consumer, industry and technical research; and monitor and review state and federal laws, regulations and policies.” The RIAA goes on to say that the law is very clear on the issue. Illegal downloading is called “illegal” for a reason and that downloading legally can be done for a very affordable price.

So, how much does illegal downloading hurt our economy each year? According to the RIAA website, it costs 12.5 billion dollars of economic losses each year. There are 71,060 jobs lost within the United States and workers lose around $2.7 billion in earnings. $422 million is lost each year in tax revenues and $291 million is lost in personal income tax. The RIAA also says that $131 million is lost in corporate income and production taxes, (http://www.riaa.com/faq.php). The RIAA says that they realize they will never be able to completely end music piracy. However, they hope to be able to bring the level of music piracy to a manageable one.

Personally, I don’t download songs illegally but I have had several friends and family member that do. I think that it is very difficult for people to think of downloading songs illegally as being the same as shoplifting. I know it is hard for me to think of it that way. However, as RIAA says, the law is very clear. I think that we should be able to share music on peer to peer websites but we shouldn’t because it is illegal. Doing so, could result in a large fine and a loss of integrity.

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Ashton Hadfield

Ashton Hadfield- Personal Opinion

Everything used to be so much simpler and easier back in the day, especially when it came to music. You bought a record, tape, and CD if you wanted it and that was it. Everyone went to the music store and bought their music from there. No one was concerned if you were going to copy it and sell it to your friends, they were more concerned if you were going to steal it from their store, and obviously everyone knew that was wrong. If you wanted to go to a concert, you stood in line and paid for your ticket. Things were just simple, cut and dry.

These days things are so much more complicated. Is downloading music wrong or okay? I feel like there are so many questions you have to ask yourself when it comes to downloading music. That’s why I have come to the conclusion that downloading music is wrong. If you know that you have to question yourself before doing it, it probably means that you are doing something that is not all the way right. So just stay away from it. There are copyright laws for a reason.

I do not necessarily agree with the law, but I do abide it. I do not feel bad for music artists getting paid millions of dollars, when other people with more important jobs are working their butts off and not getting paid near as much. There are many other options that artists can go about making money.

I would feel bad about downloading illegal music, not because I feel like I am stealing from the artists, but because it is the law.

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by Brian Kelley

Brian Kelley- Personal Opinion

There will never be a practical way of ensuring that music is never distributed illegally. The music industry is going to have to deal with it and cut their losses. This could weed out the people that just want to make money from the people that only care about making music.

I think a song is not something you should charge people to enjoy, If you want to make money as a musician make it by doing concerts. I know people that are not popular or just starting out lose money doing gigs but it's not like their music is being pirated anyway. If only a small percentage of the music industry is the multi-millionaires than you can bet that the same percentage are the only people getting their music pirated because they're the only ones popular enough to make it on the peer-to-peer networks, and at that point it's not like they would suffer much from it.

I would not feel guilty about not paying for my music. I think it is ridiculous that people can make millions with some of the stuff out there that I wouldn't even consider music. You have a lot of people in America that work over forty hours a week doing jobs that are more important than writing songs and they get paid next to nothing. I think having the open sharing of music will at least even things out a little.

Despite what you may get from this I want readers to know that it is the law I think needs to change. But until it does we all have to obey it.

-Brian Kelley