by Lori Cooper

Created on: October 15, 2009

Pirating music is wrong. By stealing music, you are not only hurting musicians but also breaking the law. Downloading music has become popular as the internet becomes more popular within society. There are websites that have been created specifically for this purpose. There are also sites that allow file sharing and trading which in return is a way to pirate music. Because of piracy, the music industry is struggling. Musicians are loosing money, canceling tours, and so on. Music is a profession. It is a way for people to be creative, and express how they feel. By having piracy as a problem, musicians become more aware of how it works and where it is most common so they, as musicians have to fight back. It is known that some bands have put out fake copies of upcoming albums so they do not face the negative side of piracy. Isn't having the real album important anymore? How about simply shopping for the music and discovering new music in the process?

I personally know a few people that are aspiring musicians trying to make it in this difficult economy. Their bands go about promoting on the internet to get shows and to be seen. While they do this, they have to be extra careful on where they upload their music because if it is stolen, then they lose money and can not afford to do shows. This hurts them a lot. Fans are actually supposed to be supportive, "buy" music and merchandise and appear at shows when they can. Instead, the fans are now becoming more into themselves and not about who is actually making the music. Musicians take the time to record, practice, write, and edit everything that goes onto these albums to make sure that their fans are happy with the final product. Then, along comes a fan that steals this music and keeps stealing it by sharing it with others. This is sad. Piracy needs to stop. There need to be ways to stop sharing certain files, and have a more tight security on download sites so theft is diminished. The music industry needs to stay alive and by pirating music, it just is making it worse. So, if you are a fan of a certain group, band, or singer, take the time to save the money if you need to and buy their album because in the end, the musicians will be truly grateful to have such an amazing support system for the creations they make.

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