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JMJ_Pinoy
Guest
Just wondering… if I’ve burned music to a CD, is it a sin that I should confess? If so, what exactly should I say when I confess? 
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Tedster
Guest
Did you buy the music originally? If not, then that would be theft. You would be taking something that required a fee to obtain. Therefore, you would need to confess the sin of stealing.
If you owned the songs by purchasing the original, no problem, so long as you do not resell the cd or even give it to someone who did not pay for it.
If you owned the songs by purchasing the original, no problem, so long as you do not resell the cd or even give it to someone who did not pay for it.
J
JMJ_Pinoy
Guest
So if I confess the sin of stealing, do I just say that I stole music? Or do I say that I illegally burned CDs? Because I wouldn’t know what to do if the priest tells me to return the music that I stole, since they were downloaded from the web.
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didymus
Guest
I don’t know why you’re concentating on the CDs.So if I confess the sin of stealing, do I just say that I stole music? Or do I say that I illegally burned CDs? Because I wouldn’t know what to do if the priest tells me to return the music that I stole, since they were downloaded from the web.
The original sin, so to speak, was downloading without paying. True, you can’t “return” it but you could:
1.) delete it from your computer and destroy and CDs you’ve burned.
or
2.) delete the music from your computer, destroy the CDs and then go to a legitimate site and pay to downlaod the same music. This would be, I suppose, like going back to the store and paying for something you shoplifted.
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aimee
Guest
So…what if you record from radio…or make a cd to play in car…
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Tedster
Guest
You are not required to pay for radio over the airwaves, so I don’t think your own recording would be wrong. If you copy music from a previously purchased album to listen to in the car, your fine too. You paid for the music, you can freely copy for you own use.
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john_ennis
Guest
I confessed to the same thing. The priest told me that he would leave the disposition of the music to my prayerful judgment:
If I felt that continuing to listen to the already made CDs would spiritually harm me, I should get rid of them. On the other hand, since I had confessed, if listening to this music sincerely seemed all right to me, I should continue to do so without worry.
Peace.
John
If I felt that continuing to listen to the already made CDs would spiritually harm me, I should get rid of them. On the other hand, since I had confessed, if listening to this music sincerely seemed all right to me, I should continue to do so without worry.
Peace.
John
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coyote
Guest
There are some I’d like to toss into the flames.
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empacae
Guest
I guess since you life in the USA it is considered stealing, since the RIAA went to court and deemed it so. It’s Canadian counterpart tried to do the same here…but failed. So does this question of legality only apply to the restriction of borders? Is my music collection going to damn me to hell? Is the recording industry nazis going to come busting inthrough my door to confiscate my PC? The snippets of songs, voice recordings of Winston Churchhill speechesGregorian chants going to stop me salvation? I don’t think so. They’ll reside there until my hard drive decides to crash someday, as they all must at some point or another, and all thet data will end up in hard drive purgatory…heh heh heh.
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Thursday1
Guest
Technically the crime is not theft, but copyright infringement. So it falls under submitting to the laws of the land from Paul, not the eighth commandment. If you live in a country where there is no restriction on music downloading, it is not a sin.
I can’t comment on whether or not you should destroy the CDs, I think that is between you and your confessor.
Yours in Christ,
Thursday
I can’t comment on whether or not you should destroy the CDs, I think that is between you and your confessor.
Yours in Christ,
Thursday
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JMJ_Pinoy
Guest
ok, one more question. Is it wrong to record a show or movie from TV? Like if I won’t be able to watch a show or movie, would it be wrong to set the VCR to record it so I can watch it later? I do this often, so I was just wondering…
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empacae
Guest
Not in the least. Wait a second, are you selling these
emp
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Jennifer123
Guest
:twocents:
If it’s free or something you’ve already paid for, then making copies for your own personal enjoyment is okay.
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didymus
Guest
Yes. As haas been argued on the Moral theology forum there is no “natural law” regarding copyright. It is protected by “positive”, i.e. civil law. OTOH, we are supposed to obey the civil law where we live and breaking the law* is* a sin.
Yes, just as soon as they succeed in buying off your Parliament the way they have our Congress (sigh!).
Hard drive? Get yourself a USB for backup – I got one & I love it. They’re getting cheaper all thetime.
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jc-servant
Guest
I have to disagree with some of the posters who seem to think that whether or not it is stealing depends on the country you are in. That is like letting your soul off on a technicality.
Try thinking about the people behind the music. If you like it enough to want a copy then don’t you want them to be able to pay their bills and make more good music?
I have an awesome friend who just got picked up by a record label for his 4th cd. For years he has been an independent Catholic artist who had to work all sorts of jobs including playing at wedding receptions and other boring events to pay his bills and to save up for studio time and engineers and back up musicians, etc. He was writing his songs all along for little or no money, but they are all copyright protected for a reason.
Just because someone is now on a major record label does not mean that they are rich and won’t miss the 50 cents or whatever that they might get for each song they sell. Just because you are in a country that does not protect an artist’s work does not mean that you are not cheating him out of money that he rightfully earned with his hard work if you burn his songs. My friend is not rich even though you might see him opening for some really famous acts or hear him on the radio.
Please think about the songwriters and performers before you take their hard work without paying for it.
Try thinking about the people behind the music. If you like it enough to want a copy then don’t you want them to be able to pay their bills and make more good music?
I have an awesome friend who just got picked up by a record label for his 4th cd. For years he has been an independent Catholic artist who had to work all sorts of jobs including playing at wedding receptions and other boring events to pay his bills and to save up for studio time and engineers and back up musicians, etc. He was writing his songs all along for little or no money, but they are all copyright protected for a reason.
Just because someone is now on a major record label does not mean that they are rich and won’t miss the 50 cents or whatever that they might get for each song they sell. Just because you are in a country that does not protect an artist’s work does not mean that you are not cheating him out of money that he rightfully earned with his hard work if you burn his songs. My friend is not rich even though you might see him opening for some really famous acts or hear him on the radio.
Please think about the songwriters and performers before you take their hard work without paying for it.
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empacae
Guest
Nope, I don’t buy it jc-servent. By the time an artist gets signed by a record label he has been paid in full. Period. The only exception is those artists who are also Executive Producers who take a percentage of sales. Now that being said. Let’s look at CD’s themselves. 20 plus years ago they were 20 bucks or more a pop as compared to LPs which were about 6 to 10 bucks a piece. Have CDs come down in price… no. Who is getting the money… The record companies… the overhead? Give me a break…It’s greed pure and simple. I have friends who have basement recording studios put togeher on shoestring budgets, who do their own distribution, who offer their wares on the Internet for free. Sorry I just don’t buy it… Not anymore at least after having over a 1000 CDs… all of which I have given away… GIVEN AWAY. So my conscious is absolutely clean when I d/l a tune that I want t hear for my personal enjoyment. I don’t make any money off it… I’m sure Mozart, John Lennon, or Tupac Shukur isn’t going to be missing any funds. And I’m pretty sure God won’t have a problem with it either, as Bono has said… my God doesn’t have a cash flow problem. Feed the machine if you must… and I hope your musician friends the best… IT’s definitely a different music market out there now in the 21s centuy than it use to be. It is unfortunate they felt they had to go the route of going through a record company. But hey, at least they got paid already. And well if they feel like they’re getting whored out or ripped off, such is the nature of the beast. And they can either stop producing new music, or just do it for the love of it, and enjoy the spoils of their efforts on top of the product… Because that’s wha it boils down to. A PRODUCT to be consumed. There will always be the musicians to fill he gap. And anyway if I can kick the machine of corporate greed the better I feel. And for the music NAZIs I say, “bring it on”.
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Thursday1
Guest
I agree with empacae.
The music market is different that it was in the early 90s. The internet changed it all. The record companies want things to go back the way they were, and it just won’t happen. They put DRM onto CDs, which just infuriates paying customers who want the songs on their mp3 player. Then they complain that people aren’t buying CDs anymore. Why should I pay $20 for a CD with DRM when I only want maybe one or two songs on it? I’m not saying that iTunes is any better on the DRM front, but at least I only have to pay for what I want.
Most of the time I use Limewire as a test. I hear a song on Pandora that I like, so I download the album on limewire to see if the rest is any good. If it is, I will buy other albums from that artist in the future. If, there is only one or two good songs, and the rest are really bad, the artist doesn’t get my business.
We have already said that taping the radio would be okay, and there is technology out there that can digitally record radio broadcasts, so how is this any different?
Lastly, if you want to support the artist, go for the shareware model. It has worked for software for years, and is starting to pickup on the internet. The downloads are free, if you like the song, you give the artist however much you think it is worth. You would be surprised how generous people are when you give them a chance.
For better or for worse, the age of the giant record companies is over. Indie bands consistently make the top of the charts. The internet has just made it cheap enough for anyone to mass distribute their music.
Yours in Christ,
Thursday
P.S.
50 cents a song?! Just to give you an idea, apple makes around 20 cents for every song sold on iTunes. The record company takes close to 70 cents, leaving less than 10 cents for the artist. And the record companies wanted apple to raise its prices to $1.25 a song. They just don’t seem happy with the more than $700 million that they have already made with iTunes.
The music market is different that it was in the early 90s. The internet changed it all. The record companies want things to go back the way they were, and it just won’t happen. They put DRM onto CDs, which just infuriates paying customers who want the songs on their mp3 player. Then they complain that people aren’t buying CDs anymore. Why should I pay $20 for a CD with DRM when I only want maybe one or two songs on it? I’m not saying that iTunes is any better on the DRM front, but at least I only have to pay for what I want.
Most of the time I use Limewire as a test. I hear a song on Pandora that I like, so I download the album on limewire to see if the rest is any good. If it is, I will buy other albums from that artist in the future. If, there is only one or two good songs, and the rest are really bad, the artist doesn’t get my business.
We have already said that taping the radio would be okay, and there is technology out there that can digitally record radio broadcasts, so how is this any different?
Lastly, if you want to support the artist, go for the shareware model. It has worked for software for years, and is starting to pickup on the internet. The downloads are free, if you like the song, you give the artist however much you think it is worth. You would be surprised how generous people are when you give them a chance.
For better or for worse, the age of the giant record companies is over. Indie bands consistently make the top of the charts. The internet has just made it cheap enough for anyone to mass distribute their music.
Yours in Christ,
Thursday
P.S.
50 cents a song?! Just to give you an idea, apple makes around 20 cents for every song sold on iTunes. The record company takes close to 70 cents, leaving less than 10 cents for the artist. And the record companies wanted apple to raise its prices to $1.25 a song. They just don’t seem happy with the more than $700 million that they have already made with iTunes.
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empacae
Guest
One more thing. I’m all for giving the artist the money they rightly deserve. But I usually do this by going to their concerts.
Everything from the Rolling Stones in a 30,000 seat venue to a small bar band. The overhead to go the the venue operators, roadies (from equipment handlers, drivers, caterers, etc), to the overpriced pops (Canadian for beers, eh?)> I may even buy a T-shirt, but not likely since my body is not a billboard, and if I did wear somebody’s logo… I expect to get paid for that!
emp.
Everything from the Rolling Stones in a 30,000 seat venue to a small bar band. The overhead to go the the venue operators, roadies (from equipment handlers, drivers, caterers, etc), to the overpriced pops (Canadian for beers, eh?)> I may even buy a T-shirt, but not likely since my body is not a billboard, and if I did wear somebody’s logo… I expect to get paid for that!
emp.
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Matthew12
Guest
If I may give my two cents, I used to have my brother burn CD’s for me that I had borrowed from the library. Broadway CD’s such as “Fiddler on the Roof”, “1776”, “Camelot”, etc. I was not aware of the moral problems with this until about December.
When I talked to my confessor and unofficial spiritual director, he said that because I wasn’t selling them to people or anything like that, it wasn’t a mortal sin. We discussed it a little, and I decided to make retribution over time by putting money in the poor box. I choose to keep the CD’s.
I hope this helps. Sorry if this is kind of long. I’m a bit of a talker.
When I talked to my confessor and unofficial spiritual director, he said that because I wasn’t selling them to people or anything like that, it wasn’t a mortal sin. We discussed it a little, and I decided to make retribution over time by putting money in the poor box. I choose to keep the CD’s.
I hope this helps. Sorry if this is kind of long. I’m a bit of a talker.
J
jc-servant
Guest
I was not talking about huge artists at huge labels like Bono or the Stones but more Christian and Catholic artists who are not getting million dollar contracts from the likes of Sony or Columbia. (not that I advocate stealing anyone’s music) There are some smaller “labels” that are trying to promote Catholic music. There are very few of those artists who are totally making a living from their music based on cds/concerts like Stephen Curtis Chapman or crossovers like Mercy Me. I personally know a number of Catholic musicians who work for a church or someplace else as their “day” job and then hustle out to do youth conferences or independent concerts where they also peddle their cds and t-shirts. I was giving 50 cents as an estimate of what someone like this might make per song when they sell their cd after they deduct the overhead of studio, paying their musicians, etc.
I’m happy that some musicians can choose give their art away, but I still think it should be the artist’s choice of when the art is free. An example of that is when you are alowed to record from the radio. Otherwise how are they supposed to have any money to support their craft? How are they supposed to pay off the student loans that allowed them to study music composition? We don’t expect painters or sculptors to give their art away. Try going to the doctor or dentist without paying for their time and talents. Just because someone’s talent is music and the technology has made it possible to “take” it without paying does not mean that it is right or proper for Christians to do so. We are not supposed to be asking what we can get away with but rather what is proper according to the church’s teachings. If you lean toward always taking the “high road” then you don’t have to wonder if you’ve crossed the line into sin.
I’m happy that some musicians can choose give their art away, but I still think it should be the artist’s choice of when the art is free. An example of that is when you are alowed to record from the radio. Otherwise how are they supposed to have any money to support their craft? How are they supposed to pay off the student loans that allowed them to study music composition? We don’t expect painters or sculptors to give their art away. Try going to the doctor or dentist without paying for their time and talents. Just because someone’s talent is music and the technology has made it possible to “take” it without paying does not mean that it is right or proper for Christians to do so. We are not supposed to be asking what we can get away with but rather what is proper according to the church’s teachings. If you lean toward always taking the “high road” then you don’t have to wonder if you’ve crossed the line into sin.
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