Should downloading music without permission be illegal?
Until the 1990s, copying music was difficult: you needed to go out
and buy an album. If you wanted to copy it, you needed a computer that could burn CDs. All that has changed. We can now click a few buttons and listen to almost any music we want, and we can do it for no cost at all. This debate asks: "Is it wrong to download music without the permission of the artist?" Very few artists post their own music for free downloading on sites like Limewire, Kaza, Frostwire, and Blubster. Furthermore, when artists do post music, they typically only post one or two songs, which are supposed to get you interested enough in their music to go out and buy the album. When you download music, you are getting music for free that the band/singer/rapper wants you to pay for.
Some people believe that there is nothing wrong with downloading music because it has been made available to you for. Imagine the following. John steels all the candy from the kids in Mid Town. John then places all that candy in a bowl, and leaves the bowl downtown with a sign on it that says, "Free Candy!" Would anyone blame you for taking the free candy? Careful though. When you download music, you know that you are supposed to pay for it, while people might not know this candy is stolen. However, those kids in midtown can't eat their candy anymore, but when you download music, you aren't taking it away from anyone. There are strong arguments on both sides, but when it comes down to it, downloading music without the permission is currently illegal in the United States. Should it be?
Some people believe that there is nothing wrong with downloading music because it has been made available to you for. Imagine the following. John steels all the candy from the kids in Mid Town. John then places all that candy in a bowl, and leaves the bowl downtown with a sign on it that says, "Free Candy!" Would anyone blame you for taking the free candy? Careful though. When you download music, you know that you are supposed to pay for it, while people might not know this candy is stolen. However, those kids in midtown can't eat their candy anymore, but when you download music, you aren't taking it away from anyone. There are strong arguments on both sides, but when it comes down to it, downloading music without the permission is currently illegal in the United States. Should it be?
