There is a battle being being in the world of music artists, corporate executives, law makers, and consumers. While they fight, everyone suffers.
People who pirate music are able to somehow calm their moral concers. One example: you are not hurting the artists, only greedy record companies. Another is sharing songs actually helps the musician to gain notoriety. Perhaps, some just feel it is not all that bad, and that having 200 hours worth of songs outweighs the moral consequences.
Stealing is stealing. While tempting to download songs I like, it's just not worth it, no matter who I am or am not ripping off or how much music I can accrue. Perhaps the system should change, but for now, in order to get music I will (occasionally) pay $15 for a CD.
But the debate isn't simply to download, or not to download. It involves what can be done with music once it is legally acquired. I would love to use online music stores, and am even willing to pay $1 per song, but I am not going to pay anything for a song I can only use with one piece of software, one operating system, or on one device. It is technically possible to circumvent these barriers, but then there is again a legal and ethical dilemma: it is breaking the law (the Digital Millennium Copyright Act). I understand the motivation behind this law; record companies nor artists want their music stolen. It seems, though, that those who want to steal music will still find a way to do so, while those who want to legitimately buy music are punished.
There appears to be trend in the online music industry towards offering more non-restricted music. I hope it continues, for the sake of those greedy record companies and starving artists who want my dollars. Keep fighting everyone, I'm waiting...
Post Inspired By:
Santini, "Bringing Copyright into the Information Age"
http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2003-09-07-1.html (Orson Scott Card)
The Copyright Wars (Anthony R. Reese, IEEE Spectrum, May 2003)
Extreme Lawsuits (Tekla S. Perry, IEEE Spectrum, May 2003)
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