If You Can’t Buy Music New, is It Still Illegal to Download?
I’m not an advocate for illegal music downloads, but if you can’t find what you want legally, then what choice do you have? iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, and Napster don’t sell everything. CDs are still an option assuming the CD is still “in print.” And there’s the catch: What happens when the music is out-of-print, and you can’t buy it legally but you can find it for free through “questionable” channels of distribution? Is it still considered stealing when you illegally download music you can no longer purchase new?
On a quest to find two albums on CDs
Recently I was on a quest to find two CDs: “Fearless” by Tim Curry and “Is This a Cool World or What” by Karla Devito. Despite my extensive searching, I could not find either of these albums in digital versions at any of the major online music stores, nor could I find a traditional CD of either album. So, I ask again — if I can’t buy it new, then from whom am I stealing if I download it for free?
What about buying it used?
Yes, buying a used CD is always an option. I save a little money and normally playback sounds just as good as a new CD despite the condition of the case. In the context of this article, however, buying used doesn’t send revenue back to the artist or the record company. Therefore, who loses out if the same music is downloaded illegally? Obviously not the people that are fighting against illegal music downloads.
Still illegal to download out-of-print, but that needs to change
According to the strict letter of the law, downloading copyrighted material is illegal regardless if the material is still for sale. Here is where I see copyright laws need to change. If a record company elects to stop printing a particular album for resell, then they have clearly decided that the music no longer has value. At this point the album should be handed over to the performing artist and songwriter and they can decide whether they want to continue to sell their album, or release it into the public domain.
Common sense says it’s not illegal, but that won’t keep you out of jail
In my opinion, illegally downloading out-of-print music is a very gray area. By the strict reading of the copyright law, downloading without payment or without expressed written consent of the copyright owner is clearly against the law. However, by the strict standards of common sense, you’re not stealing from anyone if an artistic work is no longer for sale. Simply put, if copyright holders believe their copyrighted work has value, then make it available for consumers to purchase. If not, they have no right to get all spun up about illegal downloads of their “out-of-print” material. These days, with print-on-demand services and digital downloads, nothing has to go out-of-print anymore. In the meantime, I’m still in the market for those 2 CDs, and I’ll buy them used if the price is right (e.g. below $20 per CD).
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Filed under: Tech Commentary
brings you to a dilemma doesn’t it?… personally, i’d really have a hard time getting into a resolution on that ‘gray area’.. hmmm but if it is what i have been dying to have… well maybe…
Great article. Im trying to compare this senario with any other product out there that is no longer available for sale though normal channels but its only available ’second hand’. (such as a garage sale that does not return profits to the record company.)
Other side would argue that your search for the CD may be more inconvienent becuase it is not available online/in stores, but that does not justify taking it for free because its ‘easier and available’.
I don’t believe my issue is one of convenience. I simply purchase the CDs new by any means. Buying them used is my only option. Therefore, since the profit of a used CD never makes it back to the record company or the artist, then exactly how are these individuals losing when the song is downloaded for free elsewhere? I’m sure that by the strict letter of the law what I have described is still illegal; however, if such a situation were to come up in a court of law, I believe the record company and artist would lose. These individuals would have to prove some sort of lose due to such a download and basically they can’t. I’d love to see this one play out in court.