Is it legal to download copyrighted music for free?
Millions of Canadians download copyrighted music they didn’t pay for. This can’t be legal, right? Right? Think again.
Millions of Canadians download copyrighted music they didn’t pay for. This can’t be legal, right? Right? Think again.
Instead of using legitimate pay-to-play online music stores, such as iTunes, many are using peer-to-peer file-sharing services to snag the latest song, album, or in some cases, the entire discography from their favourite artist. So, why aren’t Canadians getting sued for doing so, like our American neighbours? Sync decided to find out.
Who better to turn to than renowned professor and newspaper columnist, Dr. Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair of Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, to ask if indeed it’s legal to download pirated music in Canada.
The answer is yes, but it’s "somewhat complicated," says Geist. He explains:
Canada has a private copying levy, which grants the right to make personal, non-commercial copies of sound recordings. The Copyright Board of Canada has ruled that the source of the music for the copy does not matter. This means it could be a copy of a CD you own, a CD from the library, or arguably a copy from a peer-to-peer system. In return for this copying, there is a levy on blank media (such as blank CDs) that has generated over $200 million for the industry and artists over the last number of years. Note that the right to make private copies of sound recordings does not extend to other media such as video.
There you have it. Thank you, Michael. You can read his blog here.
On a related note – pardon the pun – you can click here to read the previous Sync post on Canada’s recordable CD levy.
Who says this is ´stealing´?–I certainly don´t. Whenever technology benefits big business they use it to jack up prices and put ordinary people out of business. When it benefits ordinary people, suddenly we have a new class of ´thieves.´ None of this stuff was worth millions in the first place. It should be perceived as an a capricious anomaly of technology that for 60 years or so a small percentage of people wereable to make millions of bucks from a song.
I don´t think anyone should be buying into an opinion from a bunch of lawyers.
In response to Juhnny Hatch
Information Technology is one of those fields where we are constantly giving back for free. Ask any computer tech and most (not all of course) of the time they help people online with pc troubles, or help friends with computer problems. Not everything is about money and in IT you see it all the time. Techs share rsources all the time. Whether it be physical (like CD's, workstations and… *GASP* software!) or knowledge. Point being is that we all give a bit of our "expertise" away for free when we have it.
Personally I buy what I like, but the problem is sometimes, I want to hear the whole album before I buy it. Why? Would you buy a house or car just because of one advertised feature? No… you want a "test drive". The problem with art is that you can't really test drive it and have to pay on faith. I cannot tell you how many time I've been to the movies and wish I could take my money back for the garbage flick I just saw. It's a new age and in this age simply pumping out tunes isn't enough for artists. They need to do more shows, make their money there. If they are TRULY good performers then they will make their money. But that is not whats being done. As a side note the movie industry has been making money… How? Content. DVDs packed with extras, high quality picture and sound and an overall more "complete" experience. When will music lovers get a COMPLETE experience?
File sharing is never like stealing. When you steal a CD from a record shop, the lose the money they paid for the CD, and have one less to sell. When you make an "unauthorized duplication" of a digital work, it still exists just as it did before. There is just a new copy of it. That is completely different than theft, and is arguably more creative than destructive.
Go read Lawrence Lessig's work.
The fact is, music was not created in the first place to make tons of money. It has always been around to share a message. Everyone knows that it is absolutely foolish to go into the music business believing that you will walk away with millions of dollars. It's just not going to happen. Do indie artists that are angry at those of us who "steal" their music honestly believe that if we did not download their music for free, they would be rich like the big name artists? You have to have mass appeal to make tons of money, which very few people have.
Why would I go and spend 20 dollars on a CD, from an artist I knew nothing about? My CD collection is in the hundreds but I only buy CDs from artists that I believe are worth it, and to find that out, I'll normally download a few tracks.
Basically, if you're making millions, we're barely affecting you. But if you're not willing to put yourself out there or if you have little talent or appeal, you probably wouldn't be making much money with us or without us.
On a side note, think about artists.
They put their work on display all the time, do they not? Not every piece they create is sold, but it is still made viewable. So what if they said, "You have to buy my work before you can see it, even if you may not like it."
Is this fair? No.
The fact is, the population does want a preview of what they are buying, and we are being smart consumers by doing so.
To Johny Hatch,
-Do you know that music industry sales have gone down in the last 6 years from 1.3 billion dollars to about 750 million?
1. Most of this is from compilation albums and soundtracks. For other recordings there is an irrefutable positive correlation between the amount an artist is downloaded and the amount of albums sold.
-That is because of all of you self-righteous type people above, likely earning good livings, ripping off all the artists. All your bs above is trying to justify what is clearly theft.
2. I am a student who is completely broke trying to get an education. Want to talk about theft? Let’s see, new editions to textbooks every few years forcing students to purchase the “latest” editions when all the authors did was change the chapter order. How about new flat charges to anyone who boards a plane? Right, if an institution does this it’s alright, but if I download an album I am clearly a criminal beyond redemption who should be destroyed for the greater good of this country.
-Do you know have a clue how many jobs have been lost in the music industry because of your theft? Thousands!
3. Source? What about software that cuts out the middle man production team and allows artists to record music right into their home computer? How isn’t this new technology being seen as more detrimental to the music industry than someone downloading the finished product? Would the artist then sell their cds for less than 15$ a pop?
-80% of musicians in Canada earn less than $15,000.
4. 90 % of musicians are never going to “make it big.” The rest of them are weekend warriors who do music for fun and have part time jobs in the real world. Not everyone is going to be a rock star so get over it. BTW, $15 000 is less than a person would make on EI and far less than someone who works minimum wage. See point 7 on what you are not.
-If a song brings joy to your heart, dont you think that's worth giving the songwriter 10 to 25 cents?
Its priceless.
5. So now we are being taxed on emotions? A sunset makes me happy too, so to who should I make this cheque to?
-And dont you think that record companies, not as it was in the past but just in good business practice have a right to re-coup and profit from their investment just like any other business?
6. So instead of growing at a rate of 10% a year in terms of profits they want to be greedy and earn 15-20%? When the music industry starts going into the red, then this point is valid. Till then, …too bad to those greedy bastards. Life ain’t all about the bottom line. You cannot place art and thought into a spreadsheet way of thinking.
-Just cause your smart enough to rip us off on bit torrent or whatever dont pat yourself on the back, you're a thief.
7. No, you are adaptive and clever. Congrats.
-I'm a living example of someone with years of education and the perfect candidate to make a living in the industry who has been affected.
8. If you have talent and drive you will make it. If you haven’t, blame yourself. Yes life is tough, but change your locus of control to an internal focus and quit trying to blame others for failing. Also, that line of thinking is extremely individualistic and serves no purpose since I can just refute by being equally individualistic and say "Who are you and why should *I* care about you? Why should *I* pay for health care, I'm a healthy 20 year old who's never been to the hospital." But you know what, I'd never really say that because health care serves the greater good.
-Why dont you get up in the morning and go to work and give away your service for nothing?
-And if you want to go to the live show, there is a huge seperate cost, that's a different service, dont justify it with that, most of you barely get off your ass and go to a show anyway.
9. How will I know about a NEW band unless I hear their stuff first? See point 4 on how many artists fail. I am a broke university student. 15$ for a cd for an UNKNOWN band is a steep investment. If I could listen to the cd first to see if I like it I may decide to invest my money in it. Can the record industry PROMISE me that I will like my investment? Of course they can’t because not all artists are gifted or good. They can't all be the Beatles or Led Zep. If I don’t like my purchase am I allowed to return to the store I bought it from and tell them to give me back my money? Not in Canada. Unlike paintings, statues, and virtually anything related to art, what I see is what I get. Music is not able to claim that. What about books you say? Two words, public library.
-the blank levy only helps major artists who have been established for years. It doesnt trickle down.
10. Awww boohoo, someone is not big enough to suckle on the tit. Poor you! Don't cry like you're a have-not province. You can obviously afford the net and to record your music. So don't talk to me about being broke. I'm with three students who had to pool our resources together just to get the net.
-some judge was stupid enough to equate making a copy like on a photo copier in a library with sharing it online with millions across the world.
11. Mass produced cds from the record labels? Oh no, it’s totally different than a photo copier.
Check out the net to see your the money REALLY goes in cd sales. That is what's really harming artists.
Just two quick comments to Johnny Hatch….
1) It isn't theft. That was the whole point of the judge's decision. Like it or not, a levy exists on recordable media in Canada, so my money is going to the artists…even if I'm _not_ using the recordable media for music. You just can't have it both ways.
I hesitate to equate legal with right…but in this case, that's the applicable equation.
2) The majority of the drop in music sales came _after_ big music's win in the Napster case…
Hmmmmm…
Ummm….so bottom line then, all personal opinions aside, it is not against the law in Canada to download music for free….therefore IT IS NOT STEALING! No matter what you bleeding hearts may say, if it saves me money, Im gonna do it. I would rather but money back in my pocket than support a total stranger who is making music.
Canada Rocks!
To live life happily and with the best bottom ($$$) line.
That's what anyone cares about correct?
Whether it be you, Shell, Royal Bank, Microsoft or I, we're all going to search for the easiest, legal way to obtain that. We try make as much as we can, end of story.
Have a great weekend.
"Of course, a good principle is to go out abd buy the CD if you really support the artist and their music in the first place, but who does that?"
I do. Seriously, I do go out and buy the album. AND YES I back it up onto recordable media (CDR). I live in Canada, so it's perfectly legal. For me, this is a good thing. I buy the album not only for the music, but also for the artwork and liner-notes, but once I have created a back-up disk, and added the original album to my collection, I listen to the back-up…Thus, saving the original in excellent shape. I believe that if we purchase the product, and pay the levy on CDRs, then we have every right to make back-up copies as a safeguard.
I personally know music artists who struggle to get their music heard. They don't have the luxery of having their music heard across the country so I wonder if they put their music on the internet to be heard by millions of people, would it help the artist to be heard and maybee increase sales of their music. It just might reach the right ears. Any thoughts?
If it's legal,doesn't mean you should do it. It's a hole in the legal system that got abused. I don't however think companies such as MPAA should sue private owners. There are quite a lot of distributors of pirated software,music,movies who get away with it. Why punish the end user?
I must admit that I have downloaded music. I have come across some good groups, but could not find their cds in any stores here,in canada. So what way can some one get their music, unless it is downloaded on computer. I have also joined the groups, fan clubs on the net, to keep track of their new releases. If the music industry is not going to make the artist's music advailable to the public, they deserve to lose money.
I beg anyone here who loves downloading music to bust their balls selling CD's out of a van for 5 years after dropping $10,000 just to get into the studio and tell me that they still don't care if someone doesn't pay. Most people have no reasonable idea how much time/effort/money goes into the creation of music. And no, art is not about money. It's just pleasant to not be homeless after devoting your life to an artistic endeavour.
Aha! – so that's why blank CD's are more than DVD's
(Guess I have been living under a rock)
Yes, they say they will charge me a levy for buying a cd in Canada and yes artist lose money but really! Do musician lose money on making a cd as we all know the big one make money on concerts. Selling t-shirts, and other things and if you have a fan base you can do concerts! They tell me now they will impose a tax on memory cards for my camera because I may use it to copy music or something else. I'm a thief in the eyes of the government and all those that impose this tax. I'm guilty because I have to pay this tax or any other tax that is imposed! So, if I download music I get my money back as over the years I used lots of cds at work to send large files to vendors and government. YOu may think I'm a thief but are you not a thief for robbing honest hard working Canadian who don't even buy music and listen to the radio! Do we really need a best of cd, I can do that if I like the artist as I likely bought the other cds with the songs on it! OH one song doesn't make a cd as if all the other ones are crap!
I LOVE HOW MOST OF YOU JUST POST ABOUT CD SALES AND ARTISTS
how much money do artists make from concerts?
example EMinem in detroit sold out in 30minuts with average ticket prices at 70+$
they artists aren't complaining and crying. they are all driving their lambourghinis , ferraris, porsches, and if one car is not ENOUGH, they have five others in the garage for safe keeping, with tv's in each room, even the toilet.
a a few ps3, arcades, pools, in door and outdoor.
whatever else
and this guy named JOHNNY HACTCH is saying that artists are starving, and they only make 15,000$ lol
who are you freeking kidding dude.
if i could have five cars with that much money ( 15,000 ) i'd be happy. but I dont even have a car .
Most of their income comes from touring and concerts
lets assume 65,000 seats at a football stadium times 70.00$ ( which is generic price for cheap seats )
4,550,000 now this number is generic , so if you take a few 100's seat for 150$ it adds up.
Maybe PEOPLE have figured out , that a FULL CD ins't worth the money cause 1 song is good and 9 suck.
who wants to pay 15bucks or 12 bucks for 9 songs or 10 -
40minutes of music = 12bucks +
com'on
I don't have a whole lot of disposable income. With minimun wage going up… the prices of everything… food, gas, drinkable water, home repair items are going up also. My point is that chances are that I wasn't going to go out and purchase a certain persons CD (especially for one good song, when the rest usually suck.. FILLER) anyway. So, the music industry isn't losing any money from me. I was purchasing mp3 from Puretracks… but, at that point, you could only use it three times and then would have to pay for it again… HMMMM…
Oh yeah, and USUALLY the only peoples songs that I download ARE the 'rich and famous'… so, when I have millions and millions (even hundreds of thousands) then maybe I'll share my wealth with the more wealthy and we will all be happy, except the little people… because you will then be thieves and I will think that all of your money should be MY money, because I'M the only one that matters and I will need to buy my dog a new diamond studded collar and carrying bag to match my new $2000 shoes and $20,000 dress and $20 000 000 mansion and $5 000 000 flat in london. Oh yeah, don't forget paying for all those divorces ( that's how us rich people share the wealth) And don't forget about the considerable cost of my alcohol, drug, purging and gambling addiction. And my many trips to a joke of a rehab center, that will get pricy, and ALL that bail money, my god I don't know how I will ever survive. SO I WILL WANT YOU TO PAY FOR IT!!!
Who ever heard of investing in something worth while??
I know that's sterotyping…but who gives a $#!*, just blame the poparrazi!!!!!
could someone tell me of some goood sites for downlaoding a programs or programs for downloading music, as well as movies. Also, where would one download the music and movies?
Any help would be appreciated
Before I even start commenting, I have one comment in general for everyone to think about :
Without the content, or 'music', we would be carrying around ipods with a blank hard drive and static would be on the radio waves (or some guy talking) and your stereo would be collecting dust.
So, I think everyone here who likes music agrees that is important in their lives. People didn't buy all those ipods to use the chrome surface as a mirror.
Onward to the topic. As both a musician and a downloader (and a techie) I think I can speak on both sides.
a) Do I feel bad that large music companies like Sony or Warner and their biggest stars lost some of their Millions… No.
These big artists are very lucky and doing very well. Hard for the common man to feel sorry that Brittney can't buy new chrome wheels for the Hummer. Does that give me a good reason to copy their work without permission? I'd say No.
b) Do I feel bad when music from a 'starving artist' is being used without compensation … Yes.
That quote about 80% of musicians or artists making $15,000/yr is not nonsense. Try making a living playing music and you'll see how much you make (even if you are good). It's not a coincidence to see musicians and actors working as waiters. Bringing someone a plate of food pays better than singing them a song.
A sad example of this would be recording a persons song via the net off a site like myspace and then continuing to enjoy it offline without ever giving anything back to the artist. And I don't mean just listening once or twice to see if you like it or not.
c) Is the net good for small artists who want to be more visible? Yes.
It's a great way to be visible world-wide at a low cost.
d) Should their music be given away free? This is entirely up to the artist who put in the hard work, time and money to create the piece. If they want to, super! Many ways to do that. If they would rather you hear a sample .. again, lots of ways to do that. If they rather you not hear it at all … completely their choice. Some do not even sell copies of their work (a small minority I'm sure. The point is, the person who created the work should have control over it's use.
e) What is legal or not is decided by a group of humans. What is ethical or not is decided by the individual. They do not always match. That is why laws were created, to make it clear what you should or should not do for the good of that particular society. Of course punishments were also created to give folks an incentive to obey the laws (rules).
So, do I download songs for free off the net? Yes. Have the artists given me permission to do so? In some cases Yes, in others, No. Have I discovered new artists that I love in this way? Yes. Have I then bought their CDs and gone to their shows? Yes. Have I downloaded some songs only to never play them again because I didn't like them? Yes. Personally, I think that if sharing music via peer networks was made illegal in Canada, lots of artists would still give away samples of their work via various web sites. But, now they would have control whether they want to or not.
Who doesn't like free stuff? Just remember, nothing in life is really free. There is a cost for everything, just in some cases another person has chosen to absorb the cost and give you something at no cost to you. In other cases things are simply stolen without the owner's permission.
So what do I think in the end? It should be up to the owner of the work, be it the artist or song writer, or label, or team or whoever owns the rights to that work, to be able to decide whether they wish it to be copied, and in what fashion and whether the copies should be sold or given away freely. This is just fair and good and moral is it not? That's the bottom line for me.
We'll get into whether they should pay royalties to all the people who 'influenced' them another time :)
Stefan.
p.s. I'm still dabbling in the music field, but have given up any hope of making a living from it.
p.p.s. As an artist, I'd rather be in control of whether my songs are copied for free or not. Then I can decide.