Check Out DearRockers.org

Darren Barefoot has created a website to compel and direct us all to send money to musicians whose music we have benefited from via illegal music downloads. It's called Dear Rockers. Here is how it works:

You pick a musician and then you write them a letter. You then have to scan or photograph the letter and send it to an address specified at DearRockers.org. You mail off your letter along with $5.oo and then supposedly you are forgiven and you can listen to your illegal music guilt-free.

I think it's a great concept! So, if you are one of those 'fans' that didn't pay for Radiohead's new album 'In Rainbows', go to DearRockers.org and redeem yourself!

Do you know anyone who has used this website and actually mailed in the money? If so, post a comment to let us know! I'd love to do this myself, mostly for taking music from Alanis Morissette when I was a teenager...I think I'll go do that now.

This Could Happen To You!

Think you're having a bad day? Not compared to Jammie Thomas! Ms. Thomas was just fined $220,000 for illegal music downloads and music file sharing on the internet. A few of the major music record labels sought damages for 24 of the 1,702 songs she is accused of offering for download through the file sharing program Kazaa. That's $9,250 PER SONG!

This type of file sharing is considered to be illegal because it violates copyright laws. The U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act is very strict. It says that the copying of copyrighted music, other than making a copy for your own use, is illegal. It is even considered illegal to purchase a CD and convert the files to MP3 format for your own use, because it is considered unauthorized adaptation.

The laws can be confusing, but you want to make sure you are doing the right thing. Free is great, but not at the loss of your favorite artists. They do need to get paid to entertain us, because that is what they do for a living. If the musicians had to do it for free, I'm sure there would be a lot less music going around - who wants to work for free?

If you are concerned about the rules of internet piracy and you want to make sure you are following the guidelines, you can check out this overview of the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

So, be honest, how many of you have ever downloaded something from the internet that you weren't sure if it was legal or not? If you found out what you did was illegal, would you still do it again? Feel free to comment and let us know your thoughts on this very touchy subject!

If you are interested in getting music downloads the free and legal way, feel free to check out http://www.mpfree.com/.