Online Piracy a Sin

[JohnMcloughlin]

I used to download music and other forms of media without paying for it and I recently realised it was a sin. I have a very large collection now. Do I have to delete it all? I know the act of pirating it was a sin but is the act of keeping the previously pirated content a sin? I really hope not because I really value my music collection especially because I’m a musician and I use it all the time to learn new songs and if I got rid of it, it would make it much harder. Sometimes its hard to find the music I want because its too old or it’s made by an unpopular musician so the only way I can get my hands on it is by downloading it off YouTube. I will definitely stop pirating in the future but I’m still unsure if I’m able to keep my current collection.

 

[KatyCatholic]

acknowledge what you did was wrong (which you’ve already done) and as it’s identified as what you don’t want to do, then just don’t do it in the future.

And, on top of all that, if you for real, perfectly, with all truth, if you just realized that it was a sin, then all those times before that you were downloading and didn’t realize it was a sin, well, it wasn’t as we know there are the three requirements, sinful (usually talking about mortal sin and grave matter, this doesn’t seem to be so mortal), knowledge of the sin, and a willful intent to commit though knowing.

Be at peace.

 

[Kei]

Now some things you really can legally get for free. Was that legally gotten for free? Or was it illegal?

 

[Alexander]

And, on top of all that, if you for real, perfectly, with all truth, if you just realized that it was a sin, then all those times before that you were downloading and didn’t realize it was a sin, well, it wasn’t

Are you saying you have to know you’re committing a sin for it to be a sin? If so that’s completely untrue. In the case of mortal sin then I would say that’s more or less correct. Venial you can commit without full knowledge.

 

[Joe_5859]

If I were in your position, I would get rid of it and then work on building my music collection through legal means. You can use the free versions of Pandora, Spotify, or YouTube and listen to almost anything that way. Or start buying albums.

 

[Alexander]

Do I have to delete it all?

It’s like a robber after reconverting; “Can I keep the stuff I stole as long as I’m sorry?” In this case you’re not letting go of your sin. You want your cake and to eat it too. I would delete it and offer it to God as sacrifice.

Sometimes its hard to find the music I want because its too old or it’s made by an unpopular musician so the only way I can get my hands on it is by downloading it off YouTube.

Some older music doesn’t have copywrite as it expired. That’s acceptable to download. If you look at the public domain list you can find which ones. As for unpopular artists if you can’t get ahold of them to purchase, or find it on another media source (there are thousands come on) then mix the song for later use.

 

[Arkansan]

You do not need to delete it. Though be aware of that listening to it may (depending on technical considerations) constitute “copying” under federal law and lead to harsher penalties if you were ever caught.

Restitution is due on account of unjust damage (theft being a subset of this). You’ve neither caused positive harm, nor would deleting these songs provide any benefit to the copyright holders.

 

[Roseeurekacross]

If you didn’t pay and it was illegal, get rid of it.

And go to confession

If you steal and continue using the stolen goods, that doesn’t make using those goods ok