71 responses so far ↓

• sam // Jul 25, 2003 at 11:26 am

  if i down loaded kazaa on to my computer and down load songs off of it would i get sued

• ernesto // Jul 25, 2003 at 4:04 pm

  It seems that most of the people getting sued as of July 2003 are people who are sharing out a lot of music. This means people who are downloading a lot and not moving the information from the shared library are at a great risk of being sued.

• Clinton Bradshaw // Aug 17, 2003 at 2:47 pm

  Hi,

  Is Kazaa legal? Please sent informations about this at crbradshaw4@hotmail.com Thanbk you,

  Clinton Bradshaw

• armando // Aug 29, 2003 at 2:49 pm

  i wouldnt recommend you download kazaa either way. its not a good p2p sharing program, due to the fact that it installs so much ad/spyware, when it claims it does not. and you wont get sued by downloading, but if youre caught, youre busted.

• kevin // Sep 12, 2003 at 9:12 pm

  whats up with all the law suites ??

  should i reformat my hard drive ?? and dump all my files

• Shadow // Sep 15, 2003 at 11:18 am

  I personally am sickened that record companies are backing the law suits put forth onto their own customers. I for one am so mad I will NEVER buy another CD from any record company ever again. Lets see how much income they lose when thousands of people just plum stop buying music. A 12 year old being sued for downloading music? It seems irrational to me. I don’t download copyrighted music to begin with, but I do use kazaa sometimes. Anyway, what are everyone’s reactions to what I have just posted?

• Jim Smithers // Sep 16, 2003 at 6:19 am

  What are the consequences for downloading material on kazaa if it is copywrited - how do you know what is and what is not copywrited?

• mike // Sep 17, 2003 at 8:47 pm

  Kazza is not legal. Over 300 people have been fined in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. I want to find a legal altirnative but don’t know where to look.

• Jason // Sep 18, 2003 at 12:47 pm

  i beleive this is crazy for the whole economy cause what happens is we the people download the music to see if we like it then most of us tend to go buy the cd’s from the artist. i say to boycot MUSIC CD’s from all record companys in the us to fix this problem

  we must do something , and stand up for ourselves….

• shrive // Sep 21, 2003 at 2:18 pm

  i think this whole thing is ridiculous either way u look at it.. a 12 year old bein sued, rish spoiled singers cryin cuz we try music out before we buy it, there hundreds of things on the net that are way more illegal then this that dont get any attention payed to them… as long as there is p2p sharing software then i think everyone will be sharing. its no different if i burn my neighbor a cd and thats legal, this is just on a bigger scale, but none the less the same thing. as long as we dont profit from it, it is not illegal!!!

• Noah // Sep 21, 2003 at 7:14 pm

  Sorry if I sound like an ass here, but sueing people because they download YOUR music is a bunch of bull. You don’t want us to have your music? Fine! But just know, if I don’t hear songs off kazaa, I am not going to bother buying cd’s. Kazaa also allows you to hear a new song, to see if it any good. Should I buy the cd from a store, burn it, and return it the next day? No, so why the hell would I bother buying something I haven’t heard. I say all of you people sueing, (artist, etc.), go find a nice cold place to lie down for the rest of your life, because sueing you CUSTOMERS is a BAAAAD move!

• Richard // Sep 23, 2003 at 10:22 am

  1st things 1st! the companys that should be sued are companys that create cdrw and dvd rw! there the companies which allow people to copy the cd in the first place!! and I also agree with the above that suing a CUSTOMER Is a very bad move indeed! RECORD COMPANIES NEED CUSTOMERS!! If you continue to threaten them with legal action who is going to suffer in the long run?!?! THE RECORD COMPANY!

• Mr. Casey // Sep 25, 2003 at 1:42 pm

  Many people download songs off of Kazaa, like me. When we downloaded Kazaa, it said it was free, mostly because of all the adds and sponsors, and that it is 100% legal. How were we supposed to know that this company is illegally putting out copyrighted material for all of us to download, not knowing that it was illegal! And that’s why we shouldn’t get sued for thousands of dollars for downloading music that we had no idea was illegal. If anyone gets sued it should be Sharman Networks, Ltd. and only them! THIS IS THE WORST FUCKING SCAM EVER TO GET MONEY BACK INTO THE ECONOMY! there are over 20 million people with Kazaa!

• Rama // Oct 10, 2003 at 2:46 am

  hi could any one tell me if kazza lite is affected by this and if anybody sharing files outside of the U.S can be prosecuted

• m // Oct 10, 2003 at 3:45 am

  This whole thing really bitesI just signed up for a free “trial” of 100 free songs on “Emusic”—-and it is TERRIBLE—they have no new artists, and the artists they do have are from the 50s. k–a little exaggeration, but you get the point! THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE TO P2Pi am not averse to buying the CD, but I refuse to buy a CD for one song. as was stated before, they have succeeded in making me mad, and I now I really am not going to buy their music cuz the only way i would have is if i could have downloaded it first to see if i liked the song. period. one last hurrah as we watch the death of good music. Forget it–I have found a lot of great new artists on MP3.com.

• no more kazaa fo me // Oct 11, 2003 at 2:07 pm

  hi,

  i am or used to be a kazaa user. That sue thing that the music company has going on is bull. i am a under 21 but i used to donwload a lot of things. i uninstalled asap when i heard about the lawsuits. i also deleted every song i had from kazaa.

• Goose // Oct 13, 2003 at 1:23 pm

  What happens if you dont live in the US? im guessin you can’t be sued since its an americain law suit and the company itself (kazaa) is australian owned… its just plain Americain corporation Greed

• Link // Oct 15, 2003 at 7:22 pm

  i cant believe this horse shit i mean if Micheal Jackson can rape little kids and O.J. can get away with murder why can’t we Download music and then buy the damn CD or should i go buy the CD burn the damn thing then return it the next day!! or should i just borrow a CD and burn it then give it back to whoever i borrowed it from?!?! This is outrages i mean really do singers need more money? does the government need to scam money out of us?? i mean 12 year old kids gettin sued is retarded how are they supposed to know?!?!? i mean damn!! im pissed about this!! we should protest dont buy another CD then watch how much money the singers lose then!! those hog rich bastards the government i think is working with Kazaa to scam we the people out of money plz respond to me at link_wall2007_420@yahoo.com Kazaa was the best thing that happened to the music world and they have taken it away!!!!

• JB // Oct 16, 2003 at 9:26 am

  I think that KaZaa should still be excepted …. I mean, I would never buy something without hearing it FIRST !!!!!

• Bobbie // Oct 17, 2003 at 6:19 pm

  People, why are we putting up with this in our country? We are the people that can take this country over again. Let’s do it. It’s slipping away. Let’s all get involved in a class action lawsuit against the RIAA and every other organization that is striping our rights. We have to act now before it’s too late! Get involved! Can’t you see that we are all giving up our rights to become global partners in this world? People, we are losing our rights! Stand up before it’s too late to turn back. If this country falls, the whole world will also and you will not get to see your kids grow up as adults! Can’t you see that the lawyers are destroying this country? They are out for their own benefit and not yours! And we the people are letting them turn this country upside down. We are under attack by the powers in the government and by other nations that want us to fall.

  This looks like a good case the ACLU. I don’t agree with what they stand for but it’s time they get involved with a case that is for the people and not their own agenda.

  Sharing music over the Internet for NO CHARGE is not any different than me listing to my satellite digital quality music channels and recording it then converting to MP3’s so I can listen to it when my computer is on or on my MP3 player. What is the difference whether I download it or record it myself? I’m still going to have it and listen to it and I’m going to find ways to get the songs for free. If I like it, I will be the first in line at the department store to purchase it.

  Is it illegal to dig up all of my old tapes and albums and digitize the songs so I can put them on a CD or the Internet so that others may hear the songs and go and buy these albums? It’s all advertising for the music industry. Without us, the music industry will fall.

  The problem starts when you burn CD’s from the free songs and try to sale them. Now you are talking about a profit for information you didn’t pay for. If you are doing this, then you are for sure violating the pirating laws for copy written music. There is now a tangible method to calculate loses in profit for you collecting money for the songs. But for free…

  How can you put a price on a 10 or 11-year-old kid? They don’t understand that they are doing anything wrong.

  The only way that the RIAA can solve this enormous problem, so they say, is by finding a way to corner this market. Look at all the potential customers of your music. Why do you want to slap them in the face? The RIAA should be working and making agreements with these companies for profit. Competition will root out this sort of behavior.

  Face it RIAA, MP3 music is here to stay. The digital divide is here. You are not going to change it. Wake up RIAA and find a way to make a buck from these music lovers. You and your lawyers are not the police for this country. Spend your time creating competition on the Internet and compete with these companies. Flood the market with cheap good music that is higher quality than MP3’s. We are all looking for music we can sample to see if we like it. That’s what we do for any software demo we download on the Internet. If we are impressed with the software, we buy it.

  RIAA along with the music industry, you are so far behind the times it’s not funny and you are not going to solve this problem like this.

• Dino // Oct 17, 2003 at 7:05 pm

  RIAA needs to get a clue!

  Its like this,now listen very carefully,

  When I listen to music on Kazaa and download it onto a CD that I can listen to in my car. If I like the music I’ve copied,I usually end up driving to the music store to buy the whole album and keep it for myself. Think of all the people I just made happy by doing that.

  Big Hint????? It has something to do with GLOBALIZATION!

• LISTEN // Oct 18, 2003 at 5:25 am

  I recommend that you download kazaa lite it is a hacked version of the program and it has no spy ware. You will not get sued for downloading music because for anyone to find out that u are doing so would have to break privacy laws in order to get into your computer…..only if u download from a place like a school or work they can pass on the fines to you as an indervidual…………so feel freee to do it in your own home!!!! peace out

• Pete // Oct 18, 2003 at 1:26 pm

  Everyone chill a bit.

  You will not get sued if you have good firewall and anti-virus software installed on your PC. You can custom configure your PC while on KAZAA to block any communications you want. This includes blocking all spyware or ad software. Install what ever version of KAZAA you want and filter the traffic by using your firewall. Trust me, no one can get on your system and your IP address is hidden from the world also.

  The way that the RIAA gets on your computer to see if you have MP3’s is by first tracking down your IP address and username of KAZAA and then hacking into your system to look for MP3s.

  Folks, that’s illegal as is!

  They then proceed to install spyware software that allows them to scan you hard disk and look for downloaded MP3 files.

  Firewall software stops all of this dead in its tracks.

  Another cheaper option could be that if you are running Windows 2000 or XP, then disable the “Server” service under “My Computer/Manage” option. Scroll down to the services and look for this service and disable it. That stops any and all sharing of devices such as disk drives and CD ROMs. No one can scan your system using the vunerabilites of Windows after that.

  So chill out a bit, this action from the RIAA will not stop this so hold strong to what you got!

• firefurbob // Oct 20, 2003 at 7:02 pm

  I think that this whole thing with Kazaa and all that is so stupid. I used to download from Kazaa, but know i don’t because I don’t have any money to pay if I get sued for sampling songs. I could just borrow my friends CD and copy the whole thing, and no one would be any little bit the wiser. I think that the whole music industry people should wisen up. I bet that half of them use Kazaa anyways. I wonder if the suing affects anyone in different countries? I want to know. Does anyone know what those big shot’s e-mails are? Thanks ya’ll

• mike // Oct 21, 2003 at 11:47 am

  i don’t care what kind of firewall or proxy service and virus scanners you’re running… you’re never complete safe from being busted. theres no such thing as being completely anonymous when you’re online. as far as artists not wanting their music downloaded… i can understand they need to make money, personaly i’d rather have my song be the most downloaded song on the internet though than have the most sold CD… people downloading your art just means your shit rocks!

• Steve // Oct 27, 2003 at 4:18 am

  All I can say is the artists and lawyers are crooks. Suing the ones that keep you in business is all wrong. I believe those being suied should take action against the people who build computers, cd burners, dvd burners, and all the software vendors who make this happen.

  Biting the hand that feeds you is wrong and will come back to haunt you in the future…

  26 oct 2003 - Steve

• skater boi // Oct 27, 2003 at 1:17 pm

  I say the hell with the RIAA. I have been downloading music off Kazaa for 3 years now. Out of no where they are suing people. I think it is rediculous its people like britney spears who just want more money ,but already have more than they could possibly need and ever use. I think im going to go download some songs.

• John // Oct 27, 2003 at 7:53 pm

  I think it’s fun to download songs for free! Why would I go out and buy the songs before I listen to them first. The radio doesn’t give enough airtime for the songs. I don’t see any difference between the radio and Kazaa and for that, I think I will download a few more for the road!!! Take that RIAA!!!!

• ToM // Oct 28, 2003 at 5:06 pm

  I believe kazaa should not be sued because of money hungry artists, music should be made for the fans, not for the money. Furthermore, I think kazaa is a great idea for distributing music to new fans. I download music to find new bands and check out band albums. I’m a big music collector and have bought many cd’s, so i think it helps artists if anything. Besides, downloaded music doesn’t have near the same quality as a cd, and is great for testing out new music. Money hungry artists - SHUT UP AND STOP WHINING.

• S_Dizzle // Nov 2, 2003 at 4:07 pm

  Even if they end kazaa like they did with nabster someone will make a new one so dont bother. And why would i pay for music when i can get it for free???

• jeannie // Nov 12, 2003 at 5:39 pm

  Ok folks, i am getting sued. what do i do now?

• ernesto // Nov 13, 2003 at 12:10 am

  jeannie: go to http://www.eff.org/ and contact them to find out who is offering assistance.

• Joel // Nov 15, 2003 at 6:48 pm

  hey there everyone, i have read all ur comments and i agree completely. I think we should all boycott the companies who are backing up the law suit. That way they can see that kaaza is not riping them of, but helping them. If any one agrees with me email me so we can talk. I really think this is all bullshit. Damm RIAA!! This will haunt you in the end just watch.

• Bluez // Nov 26, 2003 at 7:57 pm

  I have a comment which i like to say. Kazaa is the greatest. I have downloaded songs by bands tat i really liked. I find out everything about that band/artist. then i start telling my friends about that band and then they look at it and then so on and so on. In that so on and so on process someone must go to the store and buy atleast ONE copy of it. Some bands dont even get noticed but Kazaa helps them get noticed. KAZAA SHOULD STAY…

• klite user // Jan 4, 2004 at 9:21 am

  why do people have to keep paying for the fat cat artists lifestle im into good music not the big headed pompous pop stars kazaa should be allowed esp kazaa lite! down with the music industry!

• chris smith // Jan 5, 2004 at 3:12 pm

  im ready to down load music

• rerat // Jan 23, 2004 at 9:38 pm

  For the record, a firewall does not protect you from getting sued. The RIAA gets your IP address and then contacts your ISP. The ISP is now required to tell the RIAA which users was using that IP at that particular time. I know this is correct, I work for an ISP and have seen the letters from the RIAA. I am just don’t want people to think a firewall will protect you from being sued.

• javi // Jan 25, 2004 at 9:52 pm

  will i get sue if i download from kazaa n fuck the artis shit that want more money how about stick it up ur azz bitch……….

• Bob // Feb 4, 2004 at 10:54 am

  i have always used kazaa to download the songs that are still underground, ie: Atmosphere, tech nine etc. I dont care for the popular music, but stuff like these underground you have to travel all across USA to buy it.. i would rather stick with kazaa and get the band known 100x easier.. my $0.02

• Jaxx e pop!!! // Feb 10, 2004 at 6:19 pm

  I think KaZaA is a program which steals from the rich and gives to the poor.

• pommop // Feb 14, 2004 at 8:15 am

  yes english siongs people will hhaunt u so i wouldnt use kaaza

• RIAA DIRECTOR // Feb 14, 2004 at 8:33 pm

  listen while i sympathize with all you scrubs stealing music, i have to side with the record companies and the hard working artists. these ppl are just doing a job as you do. so lets pay them millions and drive on. also on a positive note as long as we download music and do not share it we wont be prosecuted. :)~~~ thats what i do. shhh dont tell the artists. sincerely RIAA DIRECTOR.

• ben wilcox // Feb 17, 2004 at 1:47 pm

  kazaa is gay and so are you

• Mark // Feb 25, 2004 at 5:38 pm

  I think the goverment should think does it whants to make the united states crumble down and lose provit aand anothere thing im 14 years old my friend told me about kazza said it was the best place but two days later he gets caught using kazza and i got scared so i deleted kazza istanly and i never got to use it again so i think we should all rebel and not buy a single thing so the companys will fall and then the goverment will have too ley kazza legal

• some guy // Feb 27, 2004 at 12:54 am

  i think any one making music just for money isnt making anything but crap kazza is giving art back to the people art should be about expresion not big buissness

• pritpal // Mar 2, 2004 at 7:26 am

  yo

• SAGE // Mar 4, 2004 at 12:32 pm

  I Think Sharing should be aloud if the company gives permisson, but I do NOT agree with Kazza…

  They are a basis of Many malware, spyware, and virus sources, and know damn-well.

  Kazza should be fined, not some 12 yr old for 500 k…

• feliz // Mar 9, 2004 at 9:33 pm

  i just want to listen to music without changeing cds every song. I would pay a small fee as long as i can get to download songs. I want to do it legally because i recieved a bug in my computer that was from illegal download and it sucked. It messed up my entire computer and i am just now getting it fixed so if anyone knows a good legal music download site please contact me

• Jess // Mar 21, 2004 at 3:37 pm

  look, the way i see it, i mean sure it sounds crazy to fine people for downloading music, but when you really think about it, what you’re really doing is just stealing, never mind hurting the economy and all of that other stuff. i mean, if you can justify this, than what about shoplifting? it’s no different just because it’s so popular. so the next time you log on to limewire or kazaa, just picture yourself walking into a department store. and every song you download is a pair of shoes, a shirt, or a pair of pants that you decide to just walk out with, not paying.

• George // Mar 24, 2004 at 3:11 pm

  Kazaa was supposed to be created so that people can preview songs to which they can decided it they like the song enough to buy it. The deal was that you had to delete the song on your computer striaght away though, but that’s dodgey. I agree KaZaA is illegal, but they really have to set somd guide lines so that uneducated KaZaA users etc understand what they are getting themselves into.

• tom // Mar 26, 2004 at 7:03 am

  i dont have kazaa but i would have to say dont u think these artist are rich enough i mean most of there money comes from live shows and advertisment anyway i think the artist can stick it up there ass

• matt // Apr 2, 2004 at 6:44 am

  fuck man. its not illegal its bootleg. thes song were uploaded to kazaa 1 to 2 months before they originaly came out. it hasnt been copyrighted yet. and if it isnt its not ILLEGAL. plus like fuck im gonna delete something i paid six bucks for

• Uncle Sam // Apr 25, 2004 at 6:00 pm

  Well whether all of you would like to admit it or not you are all stealing and commiting a crime even if it is just one song. That is one song you did not pay for! And what gives you the right to get a song that you did not pay for! NONE! There are hard working people out there that are getting ripped off for no reason just because you are to lazy to go buy a CD or go to listen to sample music of their websites! There are other ways around this besides stealing from someone that does not deserve it!

• James Kan // Apr 29, 2004 at 6:50 am

  Come to think about this man, who wouldn’t pick up a gold laid in front of you? Besides, economy is getting worse now, who wouldn’t want to save? I know, you need money circulation to improve a nation’s economy, but still, think of your ownself first. By thw way, heard that 60 million Americans using Kazaa

• UncleSam // Apr 29, 2004 at 7:37 pm

  Really Kazaa is just a big way to steal money from the music industry and software industry. Everybody likes to think it is just the music, but there are also thousand of programs and games out there that you can download that are illegal bc they have COPYRIGHT’s on them! Everytime you steal one it is just like shop lifting… Think About It?

• Zack // Jun 11, 2004 at 1:47 pm

  The artis make enough money we cant afford there to buy therer cds constatly so i say we use sites to download music instead of kazaa or use mIRC there never find you there

  :: i support Downlaoding music and music videos :: If the they were us they would download music too

• Stephanie // Jul 3, 2004 at 6:13 am

  I received an e-mail the other day from my cable internet provider that was a Notice of Copyright Infringement.They enclosed a copy of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA)notice that the copyright holder sent to them. The e-mail was sent to me on behalf of the Director of Anti-Piracy Internet Operations of Warner Brothers Entertainment and the Director of Enforcement of MediaSentry, Inc. sending my cable company proof of Downloads of Harry Potter and The Prisoner Of Azkaban but further into the letter where they showed what I was downloading and sharing they also listed the movie TROY. They had my IP address and the port I was sharing and downloading from. I just updated my IP blocker(don’t know if that will work or not) but anyway. It’s all got to do with money, just like everything else in this world. If you don’t have it your F***ed and if you do have it you try to F*** everybody else.(My opinion) There may be a lot of people using Kazaa,etc. but the movie theaters where I live stay packed. I have never been one to go to the movies and if I didn’t get them off Kazaa them I don’t guess I would ever see them. I don’t download much music except for my daughter. I get her a few songs now and then. I’ve never bought a CD and never plan to. So these greedy-ass people aren’t getting anything from me either way. They have so much money(all of them) why should they care. I’ll tell you why because the more you have, the more you want and the more you spend. I’m going to continue to use Kazaa for as long as I possible can and if they sue me, well then good luck because I don’t have anything to begin with. I don’t see it as stealing anyway. I didn’t steal anything, I’m sharing what someone shared with me. All of the movies I’ve downloaded have been recorded by a camcorder. Well, whoever camcorded the movie must have paid to get in to see the movie. Songs downloaded must have been bought originally on CD and copied. And if none of the above are true, then whoever stole the music, movie,software,etc. It wasn’t me. Goodluck to all downloaders,sharers and keep on doing it.

• anonymous // Jul 4, 2004 at 12:34 am

  my only problem is that the music and movie industry are already paid for the material so the only one losing out is your local vender and their the ones who should have a legal beaf with downloading

• fal // Oct 19, 2004 at 9:26 pm

  to clear ALL your half-ass comments, let me make this CLEAR

  you can get busted 3 ways,

  1. selling burned music cds

  2. telling the police you d/l stuff

  3. if the fbi or whatever sniffs cookies being sent from 1 computer to another that contains movies/music

  THERE YOU GO! ~ if oj can get away with suicide, and mj can go raping little kids, then YOU can get away downloading music and movies ~

  just follow 3 easy steps

  1. don’t sell

  2. don’t tell police

  3. put all files downloaded in another folder or OUT OF THE “shared folder”

• Canadian Rebel // Nov 8, 2004 at 12:03 am

  File sharing is legal in canada. It has been since april 2004. This applies too all forms of data not just songs. donwload away canucks!

• Game Freak // Dec 1, 2004 at 8:22 pm

  These artist are so F*ck*ng retard. i turn on my TV and all i see is people like Eminem (note: i love his music) ect. crying because they lost a cuple bucks last that they are basiclly say could have bought them a super bouncy ball out of a vending machine. after seeing them doing that they don’t even deserve to have all that money. just look at what it turned them into. Eminem was as poor or even poorer than we are and hes complaining about a measly buck. F*** HIM!!!!!!!!!

• Linda D // Dec 9, 2004 at 5:58 am

  I am one of the mothers with a law suit filed against me for my under age child downloading music.

  One thing I know. I will never purchase a cd in a store again. And I don’t understand everything about this I know one thing $750.00 for one file being downloaded is a disgrace. Who will stand and fight for us…..

• shaun // Jan 10, 2005 at 7:18 am

  the artists should shut up all they care bout is money and millions isnt enough for them, music is for fans not for money and all you mainstream hollywood fucks, dont you think that if someone really liked your shit they would buy your cd not just download it, i know i do.

• Tenshi // Feb 10, 2005 at 12:14 am

  Hey, I’m all for file sharing. The idea of downloading a song is awesome, I live in a very small Canadian town. I’m 8 hours away from a city that has a decent selection of music… make that a selection of music period. and I simply don’t have the money to drive that far for a cd. so basically I’m mostly stuck for music for a good portion of the year until i can make the trip down.

  I also happen to agree with the whole “I don’t want to shell out 20, or in some cases 30 dollars for a whole cd for a single song” it’s stupid.

  Also I don’t like much conventional music. pop shit and what not. or even rap. now while those styles are in abundence everywhere that has oxygen. my music is harder to come by. (examples being lesser known bands, or some forms of instrumentals)

  I have bought more then 30 cds as a result of my time on kazaa in the last year alone. in my mind P2P programs are the single best form of advertisement in existence.

  Also the whole idea of a peer to peer network is sharing files, if you move said files out of the shared folder they are no longer being shared. making you a leech on the network, and simply put if everyone stopped sharing, then there wouldnt be a network at all. (but given the way everyone is being spyed upon what choice do you really have?) I hate what the RIAA is doing. fucking artists going around bitching because we are taking away less money from them then I pay in taxes every year!. fuck them.

• yea // Feb 17, 2005 at 8:23 pm

  so what, like the music industry, or artists don’t make enough money, they got $$$$$$$$$$

• Aimee // Feb 22, 2005 at 7:03 am

  I don’t believe in stealing bread from a poor man who’s starving, but I think that corporate america is trying to abuse the definition of a “thief”.

  People who download music aren’t doing anything morally wrong. So why are record companies telling us we’re doing something wrong when they themselves are too sinical and apathetic to care about our financial situation?

  Most Copyright infringements are set by greedy corporations like record companies to profit with no limits and make life difficult for people who don’t have the money to enjoy a bit of luxury. There is plenty of water for everyone, we don’t need to be greedy and suck every last drop from the bucket. People with that kind of attitude are impeding the world from progressing to a higher state of spirituality.

  In closing: File SHARING is a good thing! I encourage people to keep doing it.

• think before you speak // Mar 17, 2005 at 9:14 am

  This is a complicated issue but here’s my thoughts: it’s a logical and moral fallacy to say, “since they have plenty of money I can steal from them.” Stealing is stealing; however, I understand and agree with many of you that CD’s are too expensive for what you get (sometimes). So, the best solution is to go to NAPSTER and get the $15/month subscription and you can LEGALLY download MOST (over a million) of the songs you want - UNLIMITED. The artists and NAPSTER have worked out a way of distributing the money fairly/legally. If you don’t like the protected bullcrap that is on the file you download then go get it off Kazaa. That way you have paid for your music, got a versitle mp3, and stayed within MOST of the bounds of legality. PS - sonme of the songs on NAPSTER will still require you buy them for 99 cents but this is because artists agreed to share most of their music but in an effort to promo their new CD they will hold a few songs back. No big deal - this is the middle road for artists and consumers. It is very reasonable.

• Jonathan // Jun 28, 2005 at 3:47 pm

  I think that people who use music download should reed the agreement to the program that you download. Sometimes there is something that company breacks, is the agreement . Like Lime wire is says basics download, or downlad for free. If it’s says downlad for free some people feels like they can keep on downlading, so then they get cought . I just dont understand that you can get arrested for something that says is free. If the company knows tha that person is going to get arested thy should rempve the program

• chelsea // Jul 17, 2005 at 5:24 pm

  I like to downlaod music

• SomeGuy in AZ // Aug 6, 2005 at 11:03 am

  First off, I have to tell James to go GET an education and learn how to write in ENGLISH.

  I think your argument was pro-artist and anti-kazaa, but I couldn’t understand it due to the poor grammar, cursing and made up words.

  So much more can be said when done through correctly used language.

  The rest of you who are complaining about the music industry and artists’ greed need a reality check.

  You need to think about the MAGNITUDE of the file sharing. Sure, it doesn’t seem like a big deal if YOU are downloading / sharing songs. You’re only one person right? Well, 500,000+ others have just shared the same song. So, with that said, that’s .10 per copy that the artist is now out because 500,000 people no longer have the need to go BUY the CD. That’s $50,000 the artist just lost (If you’re like James and most likely can’t do the math).

  The artists nor the recording company are in this to distribute FREE music. They put hundreds of thousands of dollars investing in these Artists. The Artists pour their heart and soul into trying to make it. Most of them do not, but for those that do, and those we like, we should be supporting them. BUYING their CD is a $13-$18 investment and it is the most simple way to tell the Artist thank you for creating this audible artwork. Call it a silent round of applause.

  Then we have those of you who think they’re all greedy because the artist gets such a small amount per CD, but the CD cost $10-20.

  I would urge you to put it into perspective and look at the GAS market.

  Oil exist already. It doesn’t take the hard work of an Artist or Record Company to bring it to the masses.

  It takes someone to get this FREE substance out of the ground, refine it, and then send it to the masses.

  A barrel of crude oil cost about $50. This equals .90 per gallon. So why does it cost $2+ at the pump?

  Refinement. The oil goes through a very costly process of refinement. Once this is done and it’s transported here and transported there…and everyone who transports it gets a fractional cut of profit from each gallon they’ve handled, it gets to you so you can pay the now inflated price of $2.00-$2.75 per gallon.

  Refinement is the key argument here. It takes the Artists years (unpaid) to refine their music. It takes the record lables sometimes years to refine the artist. Most of the time, as I stated before…it’s a lot of money spent in hopes that they make it back from YOUR record purchases.

  Sure the CD cost substantially more than what the artist or even record company is making in profit off of it, but that is due to the production costs.

  Record lables must build in profits for everyone down the line. From the Artist themselves to the little teenage pimple-faced worker down at the local music shop.

  It’s a much larger process then most of you care to realize or admit. It is important that you do.

  My final analogy will be this.

  Hypothetically, Let’s say I buy the new Super Duper GX5000 DVD/CD burning machine, which burns any cd/dvd copyright or not and burns them in masses of up to 5000 at a time.

  So, I take my machine, set up a store front and allow droves of people to come in and copy whatever CD/DVD’s they want as long as they supply their own CD/DVD’s.

  Along with supplying this new and fast copying machine, I let them use the machine for free, so no transactions for the copying are taking place in my store.

  What I do, however, is place sales people on the floor to approach the customer’s on new credit card offers, survey’s, time-share while they’re waiting for their CD/DVD’s to burn.

  Now, although I’ve “posted” a small sticker on the machine, written in a complex legal dialect, to “prohibit” or warn against copying protected materials, every so often I go on my machine and find cd/dvd’s left that are obviously commercially protected content.

  This does not alter my business because, after-all it was the customer, they are the one’s who copied the content. I didn’t even charge them for it, they just simply used the technology that “I” provided them.

  BACK TO REALITY….

  Does this analogy bring the issue back into focus?

  In this analogy the customer’s represent those using technologies such as Kazaa. The software represents the machine which the store “owner” provided. The store owner represents those who created and proliferated such technology.

  Obviously it would not be legal for someone to set up a store front and offer such a service. Just as it’s not legal for anyone else to do so in a virtual environment.

  Whether you be the store owner, or customer using the product he’s supplied to you for free (in some instances almost free), either way you’re breaking copyright laws and financially damaging those who have worked so hard to create the music/movies you love.

  I know that few of you will side with my position, but hopefully this will convince a few of you to unload your piracy software and be proud to go out and BUY your entertainment disks.

  Thank you.

• Angela // Aug 23, 2005 at 11:56 am

  First of all (some guy in AZ)…you obviously don’t understand the magnitude of what is happening. You have tried justifying a point, that is completely unjustifiable.

  The music industry is GREEDY! They are targeting the wrong people.

  Why do you think it is that they are going after middle-class families whose CHILDREN are downloading this music. Let me enlighten you…

  ((This is a valid and completely true argument in MAJORITY cases))

  A majority of the middle-aged parents in the United States don’t even have knowledge of these file-sharing programs. In most cases, they have no idea what these programs are. Technology is new to these middle-aged people, they do not know what file-sharing programs look like and they certainly do not know that they can be used “illegally” by their CHILDREN. And do you really think that a child under the age of 13 understands what they are doing is WRONG. It is DISGUSTING the way the music industry is taking advantage of the situation and targeting those who have no way to defend themselves. These “middle-class” families I referred to, end up having to settle for thousands of dollars. There is no way a hard working “middle-class” family can afford to fight a FEDERAL CASE and risk losing up to five times what they can settle for. They are obligated and they have no other choices. Why should a parent be held responsible for something they TRULY have no knowledge of. These parents whose CHILDREN have CLEARLY been the ones downloading music, should not suffer losses of thousands of hard earned dollars. The children are oblivious and the parents are INNOCENT!

  This is a complete SCAM!!!

  Therefore, the music industry lawyers use this weakness to their advantage and this can not be justified in any way. They definitely are targeting the WRONG PEOPLE and this will back-fire on them. Do you really think all these THOUSANDS of hard-working people being sued are going to ever buy a CD again? Especially, when they have no knowledge of the program and/or no knowledge that their CHILD even had the program. The music industry will regret what they are doing to these INNOCENT people. Now they will make CDs from their computer, Now they will NEVER buy another CD and Now the record companies will suffer for the CRIME they are committing against middle-class America!!!

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