I was just talking to my cousin and he was saying that downloading music on kazaa and the such has been made illegal. He said they passed the law last week. Is this true? He said you must pay a $125,00 fine for everyone song. I really hope he's lying...

Downloading copyrighted music has been illegal for a long time. What changed last week was that the record companies are trolling the P2P networks looking for people that are offering large numbers of songs for download, so they can sue them.

<font color=skyblue>It is true. They will be watching to see who is doing heavy volume down/up loads...but the new decision to sue individuals will be applicable to any and all people who do any sharing. Read this article to learn more from both sides </font>

[ 07-02-2003, 05:06 PM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]

While I don't agree with piracy I don't blame people either. The record companies are not going to make sales go up unless they bring the prices of CD's down. In the past 2 years I bought 2 CD's "Sound tracks for the two lord of the rings". CD's these days are over $20 each the thing is I am not going to pay that for something that I am not going to fully enjoy, or may become a collectors item. The main target of music is teens, were are teens going to get the money? most do not work. Like the majority of people can afford to buy lots of CD's. I believe if record companies put prices down to $12 thay would have higher sales, be able to pay expenses, wages, and the artist could also live a comfortable life. The reason that record sales are down is greed and the lawsuits against the little guy shows they are greedy. They could have gave the kid a warning and told him if he didn't shut down they would sue.

To me paying over $20 for a CD is legal piracy at its finest.

[ 07-02-2003, 05:33 PM: Message edited by: pritchke ]

Oh damn
*Quickly closes Kazaa*
:D [img]smile.gif[/img]

<font color = lightgreen> [img]graemlins/erm.gif[/img] The CD is the legal property of the album company and (to a lesser extent) the store selling the CD; they have the right to charge whatever price the market will bear.
The record companies should have stepped up to the plate when they first learned of Internet-based file-sharing for music. At the very least, they should have set up their own sites to allow a pay-per-use service for downloading music. I agree that music, like art, should be made available for all to enjoy, but that is what why you have a radio.

Finally, is there some compelling reason why recording artists should work for free? [img]graemlins/saywhat.gif[/img] </font>

Sue them all I say, but I am bitterly un-employed because my music store closed, so I may be biased ;) .

I don't waste my time downloading songs, but I do buy CD's frequently. Most are $15 or less. My best buy would be the new LP CD, Meteora. I got it the day it came out for $8 at Target.

Just thought I'd share. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Well Larry that article does not confirm that the rumour is true or not. It is about recording companies tracking the movements of individual users, something that also is illegal AFAIK. ;) A recording company can't pass a law by themselves even though they seem to think they can.

From what I've heard in other threads about this is that downloading music isn't illegal but sharing is. Does that still hold true? It's one of the most illogical things I've heard. :D

I also know that the EU is proposing to make all filesharing programs illegal, that is you are not allowed to have them installed on your computer. That line of action doesn't seem legal either. It looks like censorship is on its way back.

My opinion on this topic is that downloading music is theft and should be avoided. On the other hand I also feel that the music industry has absolutely no right to take matters in their own hands the way it is doing. Right now it is the recording companies that should be filed against for their lines of actions. I mean, spreading viruses etc.

Yes it is so jacked up. Those lard arse suites that do so little for the artist, but so much for their own interest have been allowed to surf the waves of P2P. But, who gives a rat's tail? I surely don't!
Anyhow load up your Kazaa and search for the up and comming artist. And while you are at it, check out the Kreate file area. If you are interested you might be able to find one of mine. Type: Amateur, Category: Action and Adventure. One is M1A1 shooting a 3 main gun 1 machine gun engagement during the day. Or a shorter one is MED-RES Night Shot Cat: Action and Adventure. Just a short shot of a M1A1 firing a single shot at night.

Felix