Copyright!

So we learned all about copyright issues and what we could and could not do. I never thought I really illegally violated the copyright law; I don't download software or copy stuff from the internet or other books, and I don't buy pirated movies. However, I learned today that I actually had been violating a big part of the copyright law, file sharing in the form of music. I used Limewire when I was at home to download songs, and I knew it wasn't totally ethical but I didn't think it was as serious as violating the copyright law. I didn't even know the copyright law applied to music. But, as we learned today, the copyright law has expanded to fit the growing technology, and that includes file sharing music. There are two sides to this. On the one hand, artists are making music and they have to sell songs and CDs to make a profit and make it worth their while to make music. Plus, its their art, and we shouldn't be able to just copy it whenever we feel like it. However, on the other hand, what about the radio? And music is a form of art, shouldn't art be free and open to the public to be enjoyed? I used to agree with the second opinion, but now, I'm leaning towards the first. If we let songs be downloaded for free by whoever for whatever, then where do we draw the line? We'd have to open so many more things up for free, that profits would be lost and the whole issues of copyright would be down the drain.