Well that was my next question. Is it wrong to download illegally a song which is not available to buy, if you fully intend to buy the song legally when it comes out? I don't think it is an obvious answer.

That's just impatience and is morally wrong.

 

The big question really is, "Is it wrong to acquire something that you can not obtain legally in your own country?".

Well that was my next question. Is it wrong to download illegally a song which is not available to buy, if you fully intend to buy the song legally when it comes out? I don't think it is an obvious answer.

 

Yes. It's illegal for a reason.

That's just impatience and is morally wrong.

 

The big question really is, "Is it wrong to acquire something that you can not obtain legally in your own country?".

 

This is the only decent reason I've seen for illegal downloading, and only if the likelihood of the songs becoming available in your country ever are slim to none, which appears to be a reason why a lot of people on here download illegally. Impatience and lack of money are jokes of excuses.

That's just impatience and is morally wrong.

 

The big question really is, "Is it wrong to acquire something that you can not obtain legally in your own country?".

 

I'd say that's still wrong but slightly more 'acceptable' if you get what I mean. Like, speeding and murder are both equally illegal but speeding is more acceptable and obviously has far less severe punishments. Extreme example but you know what I mean. :P

Edited September 11, 201113 yr by Bré

Yes. It's illegal for a reason.

Actually, its not Illegal.

 

If it was a real crime you'd be prosecuted by the crown prosecution service, go to a CRIMINAL court, be made to pay the retail value of the items stolen and costs. Then you'd be on your way with a criminal record.

 

What is happening currently is people are being sued for Intellectual Property Theft/Copyright Infringement in a CIVIL court. The record labels/Hollywood/Porn studios are getting massive damages because they are claiming compensation for you infringing their copyright. The police and the crown are not involved in the UK in anyway shape or form which makes it a civil matter and actually not illegal. You are not breaking the law as you are not stealing, you are infringing a copyright. Like the Chinese car firm that made cars that looked remarkable similar to some European cars and the manufactures were banned from selling them in the EU because it infringed copyrights (If I remember correctly Fiat were one of the victims, Rolls Royce were another).

 

This is the only decent reason I've seen for illegal downloading, and only if the likelihood of the songs becoming available in your country ever are slim to none, which appears to be a reason why a lot of people on here download illegally. Impatience and lack of money are jokes of excuses.

Exactly! If the artist I've been illegally downloading actually releases in the UK then I literally buy everything to support them fully. (Agnes, Tone Damli and Anna Abreu for example)

 

 

I'd say that's still wrong but slightly more 'acceptable' if you get what I mean. Like, speeding and murder are both equally illegal but speeding is more acceptable and obviously has far less severe punishments. Extreme example but you know what I mean. :P

As if speeding is a crime! I'm not just saying that because I never drive anywhere without breaking at least one speed limit. (The 20 zone on my estate is irritating).

 

The way the environmentalists, anti-car lobby and Fife Constabulary go on, you'd think Speeding was a crime comparable to Murder.

 

How many artists actually ever speak out either for or against file sharing? I like to think I pay attention to the music world but I never see it. When the artists themselves never speak against it and often make songs available for nothing it's not like they're doing much themselves to stop people from doing it and that's the thing, the majority of artists don't care that much, because they don't make money from record sales anyway, they make money from touring and merchandise, so if people are listening to their songs (through whatever means) they're more likely to get more people spend more money on them.

Actually, its not Illegal.

 

If it was a real crime you'd be prosecuted by the crown prosecution service, go to a CRIMINAL court, be made to pay the retail value of the items stolen and costs. Then you'd be on your way with a criminal record.

 

What is happening currently is people are being sued for Intellectual Property Theft/Copyright Infringement in a CIVIL court. The record labels/Hollywood/Porn studios are getting massive damages because they are claiming compensation for you infringing their copyright. The police and the crown are not involved in the UK in anyway shape or form which makes it a civil matter and actually not illegal. You are not breaking the law as you are not stealing, you are infringing a copyright. Like the Chinese car firm that made cars that looked remarkable similar to some European cars and the manufactures were banned from selling them in the EU because it infringed copyrights (If I remember correctly Fiat were one of the victims, Rolls Royce were another).

 

That's just being pedantic (yes, I know that's a bit rich coming from me). It may not be technically illegal but you can still be prosecuted for it, even if only in civil court, so I still consider it to be illegal, but again more acceptable than 'proper' crimes.

 

Maybe illegal is the wrong word.

Edited September 11, 201113 yr by Bré

You can't be prosecuted in a Civil court, only a Criminal one. The two systems are completely separate. Civil courts involved disputes between two legal entities (two people, two companies of the ltd or plc variety or a person and a company) where as Criminal courts is always the Crown vs either a person or a company.

Illegal downloading is illegal no doubt. But illegal can mean a lot of things. It does not mean 'unnecessary' or 'unjustified' though! Even legally it is not much of a crime and that's why it is so popular. Do you know many 'illegal downloaders' that have been hunted down?

 

'Illegally downloading' is accused of ''bankrupting music industry'' but:

 

-Would the illegal dowloaders buy the legal one if the illegal was not available? NO! So they do not DECREASE sales (not critically at least). This is the reason it is not happening, do you need proof it is not happening? Single sales (where downloads are most popular) have benefited and are higher than what they used to be!

 

-Does illegal downloading benefit artists appart from the sale of the record itself? (that they would most probably not get either way) YES it does in various ways. (most of them already mentioned)

 

-Does illegal downloading burden legal downloaders will further costs? Absolutely NOT!!! (I do not think I have to explain why, this is the way a competitive market works) On the contrary it benefits them hugely even as a side-effect.

 

Illegal downloading is undoubtedly more powerful than legal and this has and will even further in the future change the rules. This is not a bad thing... music industry needed and update and it needs to stay up to date doesn't it? ;) Let them have a run for their (lots of) money :lol:

Edited September 11, 201113 yr by 7heDreamer

The way the environmentalists, anti-car lobby and Fife Constabulary go on, you'd think Speeding was a crime comparable to Murder.

 

Well it's the cause of a lot of murder.... It always p*sses me off to see people going faster than they need to. If they're in such a hurry to be wherever they're going they should have left a bit earlier.

 

20mph in a built up area is more than enough.....

Well it's the cause of a lot of murder.... It always p*sses me off to see people going faster than they need to. If they're in such a hurry to be wherever they're going they should have left a bit earlier.

 

20mph in a built up area is more than enough.....

!!!

 

I can't respond to this without making Grimly look like a tame puppy.

Well it's the cause of a lot of murder.... It always p*sses me off to see people going faster than they need to. If they're in such a hurry to be wherever they're going they should have left a bit earlier.

 

20mph in a built up area is more than enough.....

 

You seem to be a person who obeys whatever the law says regardless of any circumstances :blink:

 

Another thing that has bothered me lately is when I download Asian music off iTunes, they charge me mostly £0.99 per song and yet in Korea, you can purchase one song for less than $0.20..... So instead of buying it legally off iTunes, I went and bought a subscription membership of this legal music distributor site so I can pay only $0.20 per song legally but now it's deemed as "illegal" in the way the songs are out there on iTunes so they try to force you to buy it for more of the same value when the site clearly has a space for international buyers, why rip off international fans when the domestic fans get it for cheaper?..... -_-

Edited September 11, 201113 yr by Oricon

You seem to be a person who obeys whatever the law says regardless of any circumstances :blink:

 

And which circumstances would you say are ok to break the law in?

And which circumstances would you say are ok to break the law in?

 

Downloading music illegal under certain circumstances for me :angel:

Downloading music illegal under certain circumstances for me :angel:

 

That didn't answer my question. What is it about your circumstances that should allow you to download music illegally?

You can't be prosecuted in a Civil court, only a Criminal one. The two systems are completely separate. Civil courts involved disputes between two legal entities (two people, two companies of the ltd or plc variety or a person and a company) where as Criminal courts is always the Crown vs either a person or a company.

 

Again that's just being pedantic about the word. You may not be technically being prosecuted but you're still involved in a court case where you can end up being punished which in my eyes is exactly the same thing even if it is less severe or whatever.

Again that's just being pedantic about the word. You may not be technically being prosecuted but you're still involved in a court case where you can end up being punished which in my eyes is exactly the same thing even if it is less severe or whatever.

That's the thing. You are not being prosecuted, you are being sued. Completely different in every way. You don't get punished, you are made to pay compensation for damaged.

 

Not being pedantic here, they are literally two entirely different things. I'd far rather be prosecuted as I'd pay far less.

That didn't answer my question. What is it about your circumstances that should allow you to download music illegally?

 

I don't really get you either so i'll try and answer you back according to what I understand from your question :P

 

The circumstances for downloading illegal music are when the music isn't made for purchase legally in the country so there's no method of obtaining the music without resulting to illegal downloading. This is made especially when the foreign music you want to buy isn't available physically and is only digitally released.

That's the thing. You are not being prosecuted, you are being sued. Completely different in every way. You don't get punished, you are made to pay compensation for damaged.

 

Not being pedantic here, they are literally two entirely different things. I'd far rather be prosecuted as I'd pay far less.

 

And in what way is 'being made to pay compensation' different from 'being fined' apart from whether or not it goes on your criminal record? I'd still call being forced to pay a punishment.

I don't really get you either so i'll try and answer you back according to what I understand from your question :P

 

The circumstances for downloading illegal music are when the music isn't made for purchase legally in the country so there's no method of obtaining the music without resulting to illegal downloading. This is made especially when the foreign music you want to buy isn't available physically and is only digitally released.

 

And I already said earlier that I understand why people would do that. If you had just said that rather than just 'it's ok for me to download music illegally' it would have made more sense.