When is it Legal to share MP3’s ?

If you produced the File yourself, then you own the Rights, so you can Personally decide, whether or not you want to Charge for the Music.

Many new Bands will release their material for Free just to try, and build a Reputation for themselves. In this case Downloading of these MP3’s is perfectly Legal.

Many established Artists will also release material for Free, if the Artist themselves releases the material for Free, then it should be Legal. The reasons an Artist would do this is just to promote their new Album

If you buy MP3 tracks from a reputable Company, then these Downloads should be Legal, just don’t try and share them.

When is it illegal to Download MP3’s ?

If you Download Music that you should pay for, then it is illegal (if you haven’t paid for it). Many people rip Audio CD’s, and share them over the Internet, and this is illegal.

Examples of Downloaded illegal Music are from the original incarnation of Napster. Now however Napster is a Legal File sharing Network.

Downloading full albums through the Internet is likely to be illegal, and also Downloading any of the songs in the Charts.

So should I pay for Music Downloads ?

Well Yes, because otherwise you’re breaking the Law!

Many people have got it into their heads, that Music should be available Free, personally we think you should either pay for it, or live without it!

If you get caught using Pirated Music, then you will get yourself in a lot of trouble, the fines for Downloading illegal Music are astronomical.

If you want to Download Music from unknown Bands for Free (as long as it’s Legal) then go ahead. You can often find some great tracks for Free, and the Internet has been responsible for making quite a few Bands very big and well known.

If you want to Download Music from Bands currently in the charts, then you should pay. Of course the Music Industry was not losing as much money, as it claimed to be due to illegal Downloads (because not every single Downloader would have become a Customer). However while you live in this Country, you have to obey its Laws.

Many people still do Download MP3 Files using P2P Networks, however this is not only Unethical it’s also illegal.Would you like the idea of somebody taking your work for Free ? Music Downloads have always been Illegal, and it’s just since Metallica brought it to our attention, that there has been a Crack Down on the illegal Music Download scene.

Free Music Downloads (Illegal) can still be found, but we don’t think it’s worth the Risk. Of course in Countries like China, there are a lot of illegal Music Download sites, but this doesn’t matter, because nobody is concerned by it!

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