Ok, who here downloads them 'illegally'? Raise your hands, one, two....
three...four... c'mon ppl, who's got the most MP3s?

[By the way, downloading them isnt the illegal part. UPLOADING them, or
making them available to other ppl, is the illegal part - because you
are violating distribution rights].

I've got about 5000 mp3s, and I'd say that 1/2 are legitimate (either
ripped from my own CDs, or, 'recorded' from WebRadio).

nope.. not I hand to GOD!!

*gigglin, face turns red*

I am not really sure what an mp3 is...

you still get fined alot of money for downloading to..

Never have. If I want to hear something, I'll just buy the CD.

it based mostly on how many are in your shared folder, it's hard to go
after everyone so most of the time it's the ones with the larger numbers
of files for sharing

ooooooo daddy BIG Bucks eh lex?? Ok.. I want that new album by Natahlie
Bloomingfield... least I THINK that's her name

I'm yet to hear of a person being sued for Downloading songs. When you
read the cases the issue is always the Uploading of songs. In 90% of the
cases, ppl use a tool like "Napster" to download them - and by default
those tools "share" your downloaded files. So, the very act of
downloading now makes you a publisher. When you Publish someone else's
content, you are breaking someone's distribution-contract, and thus
causing damages. Thats the penalty.

Think of it this way. TimeWarner puts out thousands and thousands of
MP3s on the web, legitimately, for free. Its perfectly OK to download
them. iTunes gives away freebies, perfectly OK to download them too.
WebRadio broadcasts music in "streamingMP3" format - perfectly OK to
download that too. What differentiates a song being "freely" offered by
iTunes vs. the SAME song being offered my Pirate Mike? The difference is
that Mike isnt authorized to distribute that song. Whoever receives a
song isnt at fault, otherwise we'd all have to pay a "license" fee for
listening to the Radio.

In general I prefer to buy a CD. Its just nice to have the CD and
beleive that a couple bucks actually goes to the artist. However, I've
been discovering alot of music that simply cant be purchased on CD -
nobody carries it. Doesnt make it "right", but, if Radio's can broadcast
songs for my enjoyment, without my payment or penalty, then the
precedent is established that receiving of music is not a crime.

Mike, I prefer to buy the CD too, because I like having the little
insert with the liner notes and pictures and sometimes even the lyrics.
It's like the difference between owning a book and having it as a file
on the computer. Sometimes it's nice to pick up a big heavy volume and
thumb through it -- it's a tactile thing.

Hi everyone, you guys should check out SOMAFM.COM
It's free. You won't be disappointed.

I agree with Lex. I'll even buy vinyl when I can.

sorry 4 little offtop
Anybody knows where possible 2 download good DRUM AND BASS?

If I "were" to download MP3's I'd probably have 13 or 14 Gig's worth on
a Hard Drive (but that's Illegal )

I would never do anything of the sort....I also would never speed... and
I never ever tell white lies!

Good Nite All

Nite Ms Scorp... ((Kiss))

It never fails: there's only 2 songs per CD that I like, so I find it
isn't worth buying CDs anymore. I 'record' into my MP3 what I like from
radio stations - web or local.

if i "were" to download live concerts id prob have 20 gigabytes of my
hard drive taken.....shhhh

Wow there's alot of "would be" illegals. Dont worry, you're secret is
safe with me.

But, what about songs you would buy, but cant find a cd store that would
carry them? Then what?

Mike

Bad news but yes the one receiving the song is at fault (same as
excepting stolen goods) the reason no sues those that down load is
because is not an offense that is lucrative, however if caught with an
illegal download you can be charged. The worst I have seen is one being
made to pay the fee that the music would have cost. Have a friend that
got hit with a couple hundred for what he had on his IPOD. Advice never
let a spouse know that you download illegally and if you do not let them
know where you store it and never download direct to your hard drive.
Most people do not get caught unless turned in.