MP3 Dilemma: Should Music Be Free?
© Janie Ross Coulter
One such event occurred April 28, when a federal judge found MP3.com liable for copyright infringement in a suit filed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The RIAA accused MP3.com of creating an illegal database of 45,000 CDs for use in its my.mp3.com service, which allows users to download any album from that database after "proving" they already own the album by loading physical copies into their computers. MP3.com contends that this is legal, because the user ostensibly already purchased the music and is thus simply making a copy for personal use (which is lawful). The RIAA counters that MP3.com made the copies for their database, without permission, for reasons of commercial gain (which is not lawful) because while services such as my.mp3 and Napster are free, the companies are deriving hefty advertising income from their popularity. Appeals will undoubtedly further the issue, but so far, the RIAA claim is being upheld.
Which brings us to Napster. The RIAA has also filed suit against this software service. Napster pushes the envelope much farther, by assisting its users with the ability to log onto Napster and proceed to download the personal MP3 music files of any other user who is also logged on at that time. Napster, and other similar services like Gnutella, CuteMX, and Scour, is popular with college students and other computer-savvy music fans. But almost all these songs are pirated - as in unlicensed - and include virtually every well-known artist on the Billboard charts and elsewhere. On April 13, rock band Metallica filed a separate suit against Napster, accusing them of copyright infringement and racketeering. Other artists, such as rapper Dr. Dre, are suing as well.
AN OPINION OPEN FOR DISCUSSION (please voice your opinion in the dicussion area): Some people are getting quite accustomed to "free" music, without regard for the fact that much of it is only free in the sense that all stolen goods aren't paid for. This is exacerbated by the fact that "intellectual property," such as music, is somewhat intangible by its very nature. It often even "feels" free when we hear it in bars, restaurants, elevators, stores, and sports events. But in these instances, licenses have been paid up front by the proprietors (we hope) to the lawful creators, artists, and owners of the work.
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