Dog and Downloading

Illegal downloading and sharing of music and videos is a large issue that affects musicians and also movie stars. Not all music you download without paying for it is always against the law due to the copyright agreements. Colleges are places with large trafficking of music. The government and also music companies are trying to help colleges sign agreements to permit all downloading. The government has given out money to colleges that comply with music industry policies and agreements that allow legal downloading. Colleges that have agreements with music companies have barriers setup to catch and stop illegal downloading.

Not all music that is either shared or downloaded is illegal. Music companies will put particular copyrights on certain songs or albums of an artist and allow sharing of music but purchase is required. Most pop music you hear on the radio is a different story. Those artists are there pride and joy so record companies place harsh downloading requirements to ensure their crown jewels stay well in their place, the place for them to make money. Understanding the differences between certain copy written material is a battle we all have to keep an eye out for. The music industry is still trying to figure out what how much music sales has affected by illegal sharing and downloading of music. Some studies suggest, up to 40% of music sales are being affected by illegal downloading and sharing. One study said that over 1.6 billion songs or movies had been downloaded at colleges in 2006. (1)This is a large number that should be noticed. The huge issue is that people don't see how or understand the extent of downloading music illegally. Here is a parallel, if a person purchases fireworks in a state that allows them but takes them to a state that has them completely outlawed it becomes a federal offence. When state laws become international they can be taken to the federal government. Illegal downloading of music breaks federal copy write laws that can cost a person up to $200, 000 to pay off and a few years in a federal prison. People don't really think about the effect of them illegally downloading music. It has an effect on the economy of the music industry.

This is a large problem for music industries. Music industries and their musicians lose out on a lot of money each year from not making anything off their copy written music. One way the industries are trying to make things better is to make agreements with colleges. To have a signed document that will allow the college to have access to copy written songs. This way students and faculty will already have access to a database of songs and videos. With this new style of thinking people can download and keep music that they want to just because they go to a certain college. This will help drop lawsuits against colleges and students that may have caused the illegal downloading. Music industries can catch people illegally downloading by finding out what its IP address is. If the illegal downloading can be traced to the IP address of a student's personal computer then they can be tracked and caught. (2) Establishing companies that can help provide a better means of getting music for students. A lot music majors need the ability to listen to music without having to worry about spending up to a hundred dollars on classical to blues music. If students decide to go to a school they should have the ability to get music to help them along their way for being a music major or other majors. A student has to already pay for school so adding an agreement with a music database should be needed. With signing an agreement with other music companies students can access a large database of music allowing them to legally download and listen to music and even videos.

The government passed the Higher Education Act that gives aid to colleges. The colleges are required to find ways to prohibit illegal downloading of music and other files to receive federal funding. Schools must also give students the ability to download music from a different source. The college must notify students