The introduction of music download sites on the Internet has revolutionized the way we consume music. It is easier and much cheaper for consumers to conveniently access the latest music in their homes, but the breakthrough sadly began with the illegal method of downloading music that has so far opened the door to others. It is the consumer’s job to educate which sites and services are legit and which services are not. To better understand the legitimacy of music download sites, it is best to first look at the popular illegal online pagalworld song download solutions.

Illegal music download start

In 1999, the world introduced the first music file sharing software called Napster. Created by Shawn Fanning, this technology allows users to freely share their music files with others. This allows anyone who can bypass the entire legitimate music market and run computers and simple software to get the music they want absolutely free. The software was quickly recognized as violating copyright law because it was never licensed by the artists or labels that could distribute these files.

Heavy metal activist Metallica discovered that one of their demo songs, “I Disappear,” was back and played on a particular radio station before the track was released. They were the first to sue Napster for copyright infringement. A month later, Dr. Dre filed a lawsuit requiring Napster to remove all of its content from the service. These actions, along with many record labels, followed Napster in court as a major copyright infringement.

The media started the story, indirectly promoting the service, focusing on the sharing of music files, and in Napster’s final stages, it had over 26 million active users.

On June 3, 2002, Napster filed for bankruptcy but was damaged. File sharing and online music consumption were introduced to the world. After this incident, many imitation sites and software emerged and to this day you can find illegal P2P file sharing solutions that provide illegal music downloads.

So what makes music download sites legal or illegal?

There are very basic principles that music download sites must adhere to in order to provide legitimate music downloads. Simply put, distribution of every music file on the site requires the copyright of the music or the permission of the person who legally represents the music. It is an artist, an artist publishing company, and/or often an artist record label.

In the first instance, Napster took the copyrighted material and decided to make that file free for unauthorized use. Neither the artist nor the record company was paid. There is a big problem here. Music is like any other product on the market. Someone or a team spends time creating songs and albums to sell their products. If you need a product, you have to pay the legal distributor of that product and anyone involved in the creation of that product can be rewarded for their work. Instead, steal the product if you don’t agree to offer it for free.

When it comes to music, playing a song violates copyright law in place to protect the artist and company, controls who can distribute their art and who makes a copy of the song or album. You can earn rewards if you make a purchase.

I didn’t know if the site was illegal or not. It is not my fault.

Unfortunately, wherever you look, it’s your fault. You are responsible for your actions on music download sites or services. One small loophole in file-sharing software and sites is that they can be used legally by users. For example, if you choose to create an eBook on the best music download site and distribute it for free to anyone who is the author and wants to read it as the sole copyright holder, you can upload it to your file sharing software and site. If someone downloads it, I don’t want a bounty so it’s legit. In this case, the file sharing software or the site user is not doing anything wrong.

If a user downloads a copyrighted file from an award-winning artist or record label and does not allow distribution to the source of the file, the downloading user may be the problem and it is entirely my fault. Do not research without downloading music files.

How do I know if a music download site is legal or illegal?

All music download sites or services require a distribution contract with an artist record label to legally distribute music files. Simply put, if you’re looking for music from top 40 artists, most of these acts are signed to one of the major labels. Warner Music Group, EMI, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group.