Is downloading music a crime

Answer 1

It depends largely on what you download and where you download it from. Free music on official and major websites like iTunes are fine. If it's just a song that someone off the street composed and posted in their blog, then it would be perfectly fine to download it as well, but for copyrighted music, it is usually illegal unless the copyright owner is giving out free samples or something similar. If you have any doubts, than it's probably best not to download.

Answer 2

It is wrong, as long as you are violating copyrights.

Another Answer:

Downloading pirated music is just wrong. If the music industry could have its way, you'd all be up against the wall! Why bother fighting world hunger, inequities in society, the abandonment of the aged, or the ongoing tragedy of infant mortalities to preventable diseases while there are reprehensible and evil scum undermining the very fabric of society and order by downloading pirate material? *spits*

Those publishing executives require vast funds to pay for the parties, drugs, limousines, and bling - you (spoilt little girl or boy that you are) have no right to steal bread from the mouths of their high-class hookers from the comfort of your little council flat or trailer while they're out in the cold signing up another generic, talentless act to foist on a public that only knows what's good because they're told.

And what of the music creators who actually manage to make some money despite the extortion of the aforementioned high-living executives? Do you think that swimming pool was free? No - that has to be paid for via the income generated by honest, intensive, sweaty, dirty hard work! By freely downloading their original and inarguably artistic creations, you are putting a pool cleaner out of a job! I hope you are happy with yourself!

We'll ignore for the moment the fact that a vast majority of people who download pirated material would never have the money or inclination to buy the material in the first place (therefore, having no negative impact upon music sales)... and put aside the results of several studies that show a direct correlation between the increased likelihood of sales success for a product that is openly pirated as a consequence of the increased public awareness that comes with having your music heard by more people than have actually bought it in the first place (thus directly increasing sales among those who might never otherwise never have bothered). These are patently just made up rubbish to make the music industry feel bad for threatening lawsuits against twelve year-old girls who were evil and selfish enough to want to download music from their favourite boy band (and who should have been torn from their mother's arms and forced into labour for their evil, selfish, piratey ways).

On a serious note, though - if you have the option of buying an online download (at a greatly reduced price) which provides a greater share of the money to the artist rather than some guy who 'discovered' them - do it! Rewarding artistic creators for their work is simply the right thing to do; they're not all just in it for the sex, drugs, parties, and fame - they need to pay the rent, too... and there is (for most real artists) a long, long climb between scrimping and saving every penny just to put together a demo disc, and finally attaining the heady heights of virtual God-dom.

If you do download pirated material, you open yourself up to the threat of prosecution, or at the very least, loss of access to the internet. Your human rights are second to your obligation to the music industry - increasingly so as further, wider-reaching legislation is put in place to protect artists (read: publishers) interests.

Answer 3

No, artists get money for the music that you purchase on iTunes. It's perfectly legal.