Are you an evil MP3 downloader?

[Mickey's Monkey]

So why is it legal to record from the radio?

That was already explained. Bascially he airwaves are public. Courts have ruled noncommercial home use recording of material broadcast over the public airwaves was a fair use of copyrighted works and did not constitute copyright infringement. (yea, I know, you could make the case that the internet is public as well, but those that are sharing songs over the internet likely have not obtained a mechanical license from the publisher, like the radio stations have)

 

[MouseClubMom]

So why is it legal to record from the radio?

Steve - Radio stations have already paid a fee to the record label for playing the song (granted sometimes it is only a few cents per song but it is still some type of payment). If you record the song off the radio the artist doesnt get any money from you but they were paid by the radio station. If you illegally download the song the artist gets nothing. A few cents here and there doesnt sound like much but it adds up with the hundreds to thousands to millions of illegal downloads that are taking place.

Thanks for the compliment on my picture. My girls love riding in the "nose" of the monorail.

Oracle - Pop music is its own monster. The majority of the sales in Pop belong to just a handful of artists. The huge guys are not the ones that notice the hits as much from illegal downloading like the medium sized or little guys do. Genres like Country have seen a more noticeable hit in the pocket book as labels are closing up and merging right and left. Regardless of what the reports seem to show, bottom line is that it is ILLEGAL TO DOWNLOAD music from P2P sites, at least it is here in the US.

I dont understand why this is even an issue. The laws are clear. Why break them? That is just not something I will ever understand.

 

[oracle]

Regardless of what the reports seem to show, bottom line is that it is ILLEGAL TO DOWNLOAD music from P2P sites, at least it is here in the US.

I dont understand why this is even an issue. The laws are clear. Why break them? That is just not something I will ever understand.

Luckily for me, the laws are different in Canada, so downloading is not illegal. Although that seems likely to change soon. I understand the problems that illegal downloading creates, but for me it leads to more CD purchases. I'm not going to buy an album without hearing it first. Now, I can go down to HMV and listen to it in the store, or I can download it at home. Either way, I'm going to hear it, and make a choice from there. But I do realize that not everyone does this. And I will admit, since getting an iPod, the temptation to just load those MP3's on and not buy anything has gotten much greater.

 

[disneysteve]

Steve - Radio stations have already paid a fee to the record label for playing the song. If you record the song off the radio the artist doesnt get any money from you but they were paid by the radio station. If you illegally download the song the artist gets nothing.

I understand all of this - really, I do. And I understand and agree that downloading is illegal in the US at this time. I don't download anymore. I'm not debating any of that. I was just trying to get a logical answer to my hypothetical example but I don't think there is a logical answer.

If I hear a song on the radio, the artist gets paid. If I then record the song from the radio OR download it online, the artist has still received the same payment. The artist doesn't lose anything by me downloading the song vs. me recording it from the radio. I understand that the person who put it online to be shared didn't have the right to do that whereas the radio had the right to broadcast it. That's why sharing is illegal. Its the other end - the downloading side, that I think is a weaker case.

I promise to leave it at that.

 

[ducklite]

If I hear a song on the radio, the artist gets paid. If I then record the song from the radio OR download it online, the artist has still received the same payment.

That's where your logic is flawed. With the radio there is a limited saturation, and each time the station plays the song they pay a royalty. Add to that that your recording is likely not going to be "pure" there could be DJ's talking over the beginning or end, and if you are taping it, the quality is not so good at best.

On the otherhand, one person buys a CD and puts it out for d/l. You are not the only one getting it royalty free. There are hundreds of thousands of people potentially getting it royalty free, then turning around and giving it to others.

See the difference?

Anne

 

[dcentity2000]

I have done I'm afraid. Sorry! I am legit now



Rich::

 

[Mickey's Monkey]

If I hear a song on the radio, the artist gets paid. If I then record the song from the radio OR download it online, the artist has still received the same payment. The artist doesn't lose anything by me downloading the song vs. me recording it from the radio. I understand that the person who put it online to be shared didn't have the right to do that whereas the radio had the right to broadcast it. That's why sharing is illegal. Its the other end - the downloading side, that I think is a weaker case.

I promise to leave it at that.

You are still missing the point. You are not stealing a song when record it from the radio. Again, given that the song is broadcast over the public airwaves, recording the song is legal under the fair use of copyright materials. Now, if you were to make copies of that recorded song and distribute them, THEN you would be violating copyright laws. Again, what you are doing by downloading songs from P2P sites is essentially stealing the artists work. The music publisher has not granted you a license to that work. You logic would be like saying it's okay for you to steal from a store because the producer of the good has already been paid for their product.

 

[Mickey's Monkey]

That's where your logic is flawed. With the radio there is a limited saturation, and each time the station plays the song they pay a royalty. Add to that that your recording is likely not going to be "pure" there could be DJ's talking over the beginning or end, and if you are taping it, the quality is not so good at best.

On the otherhand, one person buys a CD and puts it out for d/l. You are not the only one getting it royalty free. There are hundreds of thousands of people potentially getting it royalty free, then turning around and giving it to others.

See the difference?

Anne

I don't think the quality argument is relevant. It really comes down to fair use.

 

[disneysteve]

I don't think the quality argument is relevant. It really comes down to fair use.

I agree. I'm no audiophile. I'm just as happy listening to a decently taped radio broadcast as I am listening to a CD.

What's the deal with Internet radio stations? Do they pay royalties like broadcast stations? I could hook up a tape deck to my computer and record digital quality audio that way. Would that be legal?

 

[ducklite]

I agree. I'm no audiophile. I'm just as happy listening to a decently taped radio broadcast as I am listening to a CD.

What's the deal with Internet radio stations? Do they pay royalties like broadcast stations? I could hook up a tape deck to my computer and record digital quality audio that way. Would that be legal?

Yes, they pay a royalty, and yes, you can legally record it for your personal use only--you may not then share it with others.

Anne