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Current Tunes - Stratovarius - Unbreakable
The current copyright laws pertaining to technology and modern media are ineffective at protecting the interests of artists, inventors, and the public. The Internet has facilitated music and software sharing. This sharing should be used to promote an artist's work, not restrict it. Word of mouth is one of the best ways to advertise: it's free to companies and customers trust friends more than advertisements. Customers are able to preview music before purchasing. People should not copy music blatantly and distribute it to their friends, but copying music so an acquaintance can decide if he wishes to purchase it should not be penalized. Under the current laws, however, this sharing is illegal. Unfortunately, there will always be opportunists. When Radiohead released their album In Rainbows, they first released it as a "pay-what-you-like" download. Most people chose to pay nothing (http://www.nme.com/news/radiohead/40444). Is this evidence that file sharing must be regulated? As an aspiring intellectual property lawyer, I will have to help answer questions such as this.
What's probably the best approach is to treat others as if we were personally visiting them and buying their product. Thought of this way, both giving money to a large corporation and hoping the artist gets some money and just taking the music and not giving the artist anything wouldn't be very nice.
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