I had this discussion once in my Bible class in high school. My Bible teacher used to download lots of things and we asked him his stance. He said that you can't prohibit sound. Sound is not a medium owned by anyone. So taking it from something (like a cd) isn't a problem; its putting it on another medium (cd, ipod, laptop, etc) that makes it tricky. At the time, it sounded like he was trying to justify his actions...now it makes sense.
I personally try to avoid downloading in general, but the farther I get into the Web 2.0 mindset, I realize how diverse downloading is. It is essential to so many forms of expression and exploration and learning. Having that inhibited because people want to cheat the system, well that is just counterproductive to progress.
Illegal downloading is so rampant and made so readily available and the lines seem so blurry now. A matter of years ago it was out of the average individual's hands to reproduce something illegally. It took special equipment that cost lots of money and time to buy/make. Now, the tools the big companies are using are in our own hands, leading me to my next thought.
Big companies used to be able to get money from consumers for producing a product we could not, or would take too long or cost too much if we undertook every step of manufacturing ourselves. Now that we have those tools, big companies are panicking. And they should. There has been a coup.
This also goes for musicians and movie makers, they don't need record companies and movie studios like they used to. I love underground music. They make their own stuff, put it on a medium and get it out there. You don't see them worried about fans sharing music it gets them more listeners if they are good and feedback if they aren't. Music has never been a stable career, what else is new?
Lots of unanswered questions, but old men trying to hold back this progress are seeming more and more behind the times instead of trying to come up with new ideas and open their minds to the future that is 2.0...
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Hey, thanks for your comment on my blog. It's wonderful to meet a fellow fan. Most people think I'm just a little odd (including fellow employees). Thanks for the offer of help. I haven't done this week's lesson yet so we'll see how that goes. I like your thoughts about downloading. It's all so complicated with copywriting laws, etc.
Laura (QL)
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