Is it a sin to download music off the internet?

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enanneman:
So, are you saying that if you log onto Kazaa and download Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven, you are not comitting a sin?
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The reason Kazaa exists is for people to LEGALLY download music. I fail to see how it could be considered a sin.
 
Led Zeppelin75:
The reason Kazaa exists is for people to LEGALLY download music. I fail to see how it could be considered a sin.
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My friend, you did not answer my question. If you logged onto Kazaa and downloaded Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven, would you be committing a sin?

Peace and God bless! 🙂

Eric
 
I guess I’m not sinning since all mp3s of my classic music collection are downloaded directly from where the artist publish them
 
Somebody mentioned sites where you pay to download music. Can you give me any links to these sites. We stopped downloading a long time ago. The neat thing about downloading that we liked is that you can pick the music you like from different artists and put it in the order you like. So, if there are sites where we can do this legally out there anyone can suggest, it would sure be appreciated!

Peace
 
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Monicathree:
Somebody mentioned sites where you pay to download music. Can you give me any links to these sites. We stopped downloading a long time ago. The neat thing about downloading that we liked is that you can pick the music you like from different artists and put it in the order you like. So, if there are sites where we can do this legally out there anyone can suggest, it would sure be appreciated!

Peace
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My personal favorite is iTunes: itunes.com. Walmart also has a download site.
 
I don’t think I read all the posts but you should check out the 21st Technology topic in the Misc. Forum.
 
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enanneman:
My friend, you did not answer my question. If you logged onto Kazaa and downloaded Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven, would you be committing a sin?

Peace and God bless! 🙂

Eric
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No It’s not a sin. Peace
 
Led Zeppelin75:
No It’s not a sin. Peace
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My friend, I would recommend a deeper examination of conscience. When I downloaded mp3s, I was stealing. I was receiving pleasure from something for which I did not pay, nor did the artist offer for free.

I mean, we could endlessly debate the legalistic nature of downloading music and never really come to an agreement. You could equate downloading music to listening to the radio, and I could respond by saying the record label allows songs to be played on the radio to promote the music so that album sales increase, and if I download the song and can listen to it whenever I want, there’s no incentive for me to support the artist or the industry that generates the music.

But, luckily, we have God’s law and a conscience (hopefully) formed by the church. For years, I didn’t listen to my conscience because I knew what it would say if I did–that listening to music I didn’t pay for was wrong. I’d rather live in my sin than have a conversion of heart.

All I had to do was apply the two greatest commandments, love God and love one another, and I would have realized that by obtaining enjoyment from a product that I didn’t pay for, I wasn’t truly loving my neighbor (in this case, the artist that produced the music, as well as the countless other people who would be affected by my lack of payment).

Last month, I felt the same way you did. Here’s the post from it.

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?p=237424#post237424

Then, the next day, I deleted them all. Here’s that post.

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?p=238825#post238825

Peace and God bless! 🙂

Eric
 
Thanks for the advice. I’m starting to see it your way, however, in all truth my conscience does not tell me it’s a sin. I don’t consider it stealing if you sign up to the site, pay the money needed for unlimited download, and do so.
 
Led Zeppelin75:
Thanks for the advice. I’m starting to see it your way, however, in all truth my conscience does not tell me it’s a sin. I don’t consider it stealing if you sign up to the site, pay the money needed for unlimited download, and do so.
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Well, say, if you’re using a pay service, such as iTunes, than that’s fine. But if you’re paying Kazaa to use its software, neither you nor Kazaa is paying the artists…

Peace be with you! 🙂

Eric
 
I use Napster now because I get it free because I go to Penn State. I would really love to download some Led Zeppelin,“Over the Hills and Far Away” and “Fool in the Rain” and “Tangerine” are great songs, but they do not have it. I miss the old days when downloading music was not a sin.:crying:
 
is it a sin to download music… hmm… i guess it depends on how u look at it. I download it all the time and am involved in a music ripping group called cmg. However we are a group of christians that get mp3s of music, and digital movies such as the passion and pc software bibles and send them to places such as bulgaria and south africa and many other countries in which it is against the law to sell anything that is christian related. Now… if jesus was here would u really think he would be like “no… im sorry… u cannot listen to my music or watch a movie or read even my own word to strengthen ur walk with me because there is this thing called copyright and im sorry but ur out of luck on this one.” I mean i dono its a tough issue and thats how ive sided with it and we’ve actually had many bands write to us and encourage us in what we are doing… only pillar decided to be against us because their secular label wasnt too into that. But whatever ill just let u guys think about it in this perspective. I still havent come to a conclusion on this issue
 
Here’s my opinion:
I used to download music all the time until last year. I personally felt convicted (my grandad had a lot to do with it!) and decided that it was indeed stealing to download music. I mean, you can rationalize if you want, but you’re essentially getting something for free that is not meant to be free. I guess it’s kind of like a “white collar” crime! It doesn’t feel like stealing because all you do is click your mouse–but it is stealing. We can make excuses like “well the artists are already rich” but that doesn’t matter–it’s still their intellectual property, and God gives us the right to own property–and the commandment not to take others’!! So, i now have MusicMatch On Demad service which I love: it’s a pay-service that lets me listen to virtually any song online, but I can’t download it–it’s streaming CD quality music. The quality and selection is great, plus it’s guilt-free! So bottom line, take the high road and pay for your music–you know it’s right in your heart. God bless!
 
I have been following this thread with interest. This summer I found a bunch of MP3 that my husband (and his friend) had downloaded to our computer when Napster was still legal.

I then burned several CDs with the MP3s on them. I do not know what to do with the CDs, but this thread is making me think I have to throw them out (and go to confession??).

I am still not entirely convinced that when people used sites like Kazaa or Napster back in 2001 (when they were available as free sites) that the people were stealing.

The problem with the Internet back in 2001 or so is that there really were no laws for digital sharing of music. However, the record companies went nuts because they realized they were losing money, and the Internet really threw them for a loop.

However, how can the citizens be accused of stealing when they used a free service to obtain music when no laws were really in place for digital music. Do we really need to throw away those old burned CDs from the past because now the rules have changed regarding digital downloading??

Any thoughts?
 
Youngcatholic said:
I have been following this thread with interest. This summer I found a bunch of MP3 that my husband (and his friend) had downloaded to our computer when Napster was still legal.

I then burned several CDs with the MP3s on them. I do not know what to do with the CDs, but this thread is making me think I have to throw them out (and go to confession??).

I am still not entirely convinced that when people used sites like Kazaa or Napster back in 2001 (when they were available as free sites) that the people were stealing.

**The problem with the Internet back in 2001 or so is that there really were no laws for digital sharing of music. **However, the record companies went nuts because they realized they were losing money, and the Internet really threw them for a loop.

However, how can the citizens be accused of stealing when they used a free service to obtain music when no laws were really in place for digital music. Do we really need to throw away those old burned CDs from the past because now the rules have changed regarding digital downloading??

Any thoughts?
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The bolded point is just not true. Copyright laws have been in place for many many years. The only thing is that the general public, somehow, began to conclude that the copyright laws did not apply to the internet–based on no reasoning at all. The courts time and time again concluded that the existing laws did apply. How hard was that to conclude–why would the internet be any different than any other type of copying?
 
CuriousInIL said:
The bolded point is just not true. Copyright laws have been in place for many many years. The only thing is that the general public, somehow, began to conclude that the copyright laws did not apply to the internet–based on no reasoning at all. The courts time and time again concluded that the existing laws did apply. How hard was that to conclude–why would the internet be any different than any other type of copying?
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In Canada and Holland it is legal to download music from the internet.
The person downloading in these countries therefore does not have to think about copyright.
 
I forgot to mention that this thread won’t be needed by the year end. Starting December in the US and UK first you can download legally free music from www.spiralfrog.com
This company has signed up already several of the big music companies and the downloads will be free. No more worries about copyright.
 
I know copyright law has been in effect a long time. However, the Internet has changed the face of copyright law.
 
If downloading publicly available songs off the internet is stealing then why aren’t the record producers banning tape decks off of stereo systems? If its stealing to download music off the internet then it would be stealing to record songs from radio stations off the radio. Also the principal would apply to movies that you record off the VCR or DVD recorder for tv shows. They ALL say not to record the shows but yet everybody who buys a VCR or a DVD recorder will be breaking the law and stealing it too.

It’s not stealing to listen to it for your personal pleasure. If however you were to make a bunch of copies and SELL them… then yes it would sinful.
 
Youngcatholic said:
I know copyright law has been in effect a long time. However, the Internet has changed the face of copyright law.
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No, it hasn’t. That is just my point. Some copying is acceptable under the copyright laws and some is not. But those laws–in conjunction with sites that do or do not pay license fees to the copyright holders–define the parameters of what is ok and what is not.
 
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