THINGY

Nayrim Valor
Katie Alexander
Period 03

Multimedia Downloading!

Take a look at your iPod right now; how many songs have you downloaded… illegally? Each month, more than 2.6 billion files are criminally downloaded. The explosion in illegal copying is affecting the entire music community. (Torr 8) Also, the files that you are downloading are coming from websites that have viruses. Downloading files without paying for them is a crime; “if you can’t do the crime, don’t do the crime.” (Torr 10)

To begin with, multimedia downloading is having a destructive impact on numerous musicians, songwriters, and performers. Virtually everyone, from recording engineers to record store clerks who dream about making a living providing music to the public are getting affected. They do not know what to do anymore to stop this piracy. The unauthorized reproduction and distribution of copyrighted music is just as illegal; as shoplifting a CD. The rules are very simple, unless you own the copyright, you cannot distribute to others.

On the other hand, many people download files from these networks for free for the simplest reason that they only want one song of the artist’s album. They see downloading as an easy way of not wasting money for songs they don’t want. However, the downloading of these files may also cause the acquirement of computer viruses. For example, people who want music will get it from wherever they can. Many of these websites are unsafe and their files may contain viruses thus putting your safety in danger. The information you thought was safe in your computer can now be accessed by millions of people and all this just because you didn’t want to pay for a single file of music.

Furthermore, if you can’t do the time don’t do the crime. Without legal permission, you cannot copy and/or distribute copyright music (Torr 10). By doing this, you can get prosecuted in criminal court and sued for damages in civil court. First timers can get as high as five years in prison and $250,000 in fines. Besides, if you make digital copies of copyrighted music on your computer available to anyone through the internet without the permission of the copyrighted owner, you are stealing his/her material.

To conclude, downloading is just wrong! There’s nothing more to it. There is enough evidence that show all the harm illegal downloading does to not only the artists, but also to the recording store clerks who have to make a living out of selling records. Besides, not only is this against the law, but there is a high risk of your computer getting viruses, such as the “worm”. If you really think about it, downloading files can lead to many serious and non-worthy consequences, such as going to jail for about five years. What do you prefer? Paying a measly dollar for some entertainment or viruses and maybe even some jail-time? Just stop and think before clicking that button.