File Sharing Guide: It's not the File Sharing Software: It's You!

Where’s the agreement?
If you’re looking for free music downloads online you are literally jumping into shark infested waters. The music industry including the artists, writers and recording associations haven’t come to any sort of agreement yet about what types of file sharing software should be allowed online.

While they are working to sort out the issues involved in making sure everyone gets paid without pissing off their fans, the many file sharing website continue to flourish. It seems that even lawsuits cannot stop the most aggressive file sharing networks.

So how did the music industry get here?

File Sharing Takes Off
File sharing software technology and the rapid adoption of the internet by their primary demographic, 18-49 year olds caught them off guard. Recording artists were so busy looking at ways to turn their CDs into mini DVDs with music videos, pictures, exclusive songs and custom promotions that they missed the file sharing monster growing online.

Now, one of the most progressive industries on the planet finds itself trying to catch up to 14 year olds who can distribute hundreds of free mp3 downloads online and wipe out millions of dollars in earned income.

While they are trying to figure it out, what should you do if you want to get free music downloads online? Read the find print on your file sharing service.

You don’t need a law degree to figure out that some people are using file sharing networks to avoid paying for the CD. So, basically, any type of file sharing software or file sharing network that talks about shields, no copyrights or unlimited downloads should be avoided.

You stay on the right path by looking for sties that occasionally provide free mp3 files for their site visitors. The free music files are usually posted at the beginning of a site subscription, when new albums are looking for publicity, or the beginning of the month.

By getting your music from these types of sites that are open about their free mp3 downloads you are showing that you respect, and intend to comply with national copyright laws.

If you look at the types of consumers that have been targeted by the RIAA and other industry associations, it is their careless regard for music laws and download volume requirements that bring them to the attention of the legal authorities.

Sites are constantly in flux
Now, even if you intend to stay away from illegal downloads, you cannot simply trust the information from a particular websites. The status of the various file sharing networks are constantly changing as they go through the sue-counter sue-negotiation –settle with artists and musicians cycle.

Usually if a site is in the process of getting sued, you can find some type of legal information on their background by typing their name into any major search engine. Sometimes, they might even be bold and place copies of the lawsuit or other types of documents on their website regarding their status.

In either case, if you are in doubt, look around the site a bit before you start taking advantage of their free music download offers.

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Syd Johnson
Editor