File Sharing

Kyle Monteleone

Information Ethics-E

No, it is very similar to sharing a record or movie, the fact that it can be copied is what makes creators of the said media angry. In reality the creator is not losing much service, in fact in many cases they gain from it. When I have my friend synch his I-pod onto my account he goes home and re-synchs it onto his computer. When he listens to the music he finds songs that he likes, he then looks up the artist that sings the song and buys more of his songs. Songs that I never would have bought. Widespread file sharing online such as a website giving away free music should be shutdown. But simple friend to friend file sharing should be left alone as it is just the same as sharing a record or movie with a friend, there is no money made from file sharing and the users most likely would have never bought the song in the first place. The exception to all of these rules are the large file sharing sites such as Sharebear or Limewire. Users use these sites to get music that they are seeking for free, it is not shared with a few friends but with the entire would and while the users should not (and in fact cannot) be prosecuted the creators of these sites are the ones who should be held accountable for the loss of revenue to artists.