Should music sharing programs be legal?, Give me your opinion. Options

[Jen]

I am writing a paper for my music history class, and I just wanted the opinions of my fellow 6gc'ers.

What do you think about music sharing programs, such as Napster, Limewire, etc.? Do you think they should be legal (as in completely free)? And why?

Please, only educated replies.

I believe that they shouldn't be legal, because artists and bands work very hard to produce songs, and I don't think it's fair for the public to download an entire album for free. I do believe though, that if certain artists want to allow the public to hear their music free, they can. But artists that do not want their music to be free, should be blocked from the public.

What do ya'll think?

[BlackCelicaGT94]

This is a hard subject. Theres so many "ifs"

If you are a new and upcoming artist and youre not signed to a record label and probably wont make a million dollars when you tour like Justin Timberlake then I think it should be up to whether you want your music out there or not. If youre someone like Justin Timberlake, Rolling Stones etc who are going to make your million(s) either way then you should let your music be shared. I think it really comes down to the artist and its record label.

I know that I would rather go buy a cd rather than download it so I have supported pretty much all the artists who's cds I have. Ive also supported someone like Justin Timberlake so much in the past 7 years that I wouldnt feel bad downloading his cd because Ive bought tickets to his concerts, every cd put out by him and Nysnc, etc.

[BloodyStupidDave...]

If you are a new and upcoming artist and youre not signed to a record label and probably wont make a million dollars when you tour like Justin Timberlake then I think it should be up to whether you want your music out there or not. If youre someone like Justin Timberlake, Rolling Stones etc who are going to make your million(s) either way then you should let your music be shared.

That is a very good point. Many upcoming music artists are liberal - almost bohemian- in their attitude. They explicitly state that the most important thing is getting their music heard. They want their music to be heard by as many people as possible. This seems to be a common theme among all artists and performers whether they write books, perform music, paint or whatever - they want their work to be experienced by the public at large. However they need to make a living just like anyone else and deserve the right to choose when, where and how to charge for their work.

A difficult subject.