The Morality of Downloading Music essays

The Morality of Downloading Music essays Ever since Napster first came on the scene in the late 1990s, downloading music and movies over the internet has been an extremely controversial issue. People all over the world delighted in the fact that you could get your favorite songs with the click of a mouse from the comfort of your own home. However, for almost as long as file-sharing programs have been around, there have been those who try to stop them. Record companies, many recording artists, and the movie industry plead with, and try to force the public to stop this piracy. The number of lawsuits has been going up in recent years and the targets have become average people who download a few things here and there. However, the issue is not as black and white as it seems. Many people believe, with good reason, that downloading isnt the horrible criminal offense that the recording and movie industries make it out to be. Sometimes, downloading actually helps music sales by generating an interest in a certain band or st yle of music. The recording industry is filled with artists who have the kind of money most people can only dream about, and yet they ask for more. The most important point is that this is the direction technology has taken us in and now that its here, its not likely to go away. The record companies may say technology or not, stealing is stealing. But in a way, downloading has revitalized the music industry and generated new interest, which the record companies can use to their advantage if they would only adapt to these file-sharing programs rather than try to fight them. To consider whether or not downloading music is stealing, one must first look at the definition of stealing. According to Neil Rollins, downloading music isnt comparable to stealing a CD from a record store. When you take a CD from a store, it is theft because you are taking it away from the shop someone still has to pay for the physical costs...