Accessing music online has never been easier, but it raises important issues. For example, what you need to know about the copyright of the creators of the music. What you can safely and legally do with the music you access online. What you can copy on to your computer. How to download music without exposing the home or school computer to viruses and other security risks. And how you can still enjoy all the advantages of digital music while staying on the right side of the law.
This is a guide for parents and teachers. It aims to give essential advice about how young people can get the best out of downloading and sharing music in a safe and legal way.
Digital music comes in a myriad of ways. You can buy a single download or an album online, as well as an album cover wallpaper for your mobile phone, a ringtone, an e-ticket for a concert, a music video, or a CD. You can discover new acts and become their friend on a social network or sign up to a subscription service. New sites like LastFM or Imeem are emerging, allowing fans to listen to music several times for free to see if they like it. You can also access free music that some artists make available on their site.
Millions of people buy songs online at one of the hundreds of download sites on the internet. A library of over six million tracks is available – over four times the size of the biggest megastore. Once bought, tracks can be “burned” onto a CD, transferred onto portable music players like the iPod or onto a mobile phone.
Music files are also found on file-sharing or peer-to-peer (P2P) networks where huge amounts of songs are swapped. This raises copyright issues for music fans.
Go to www.pro-music.org/musiconline.htm for a full list of legal stores.
Peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing means swapping music or other files on peer-to-peer networks which connect millions of people. Users download the P2P software on to their computer to link them to the network and give them access to shared files, from shared folders on their hard drives. The more advanced “BitTorrent” network has made file-sharing quicker by enabling users to download chunks of a file from different users all at once. This means that each hard drive is accessible by all other users of the P2P network at that moment.
There are legal ways to use P2P networks, and they are a revolutionary way of distributing your own personal files like photos or songs. But copying or distributing copyrighted material such as music, films, games and software without permission or payment, is illegal. Moreover, the files sent over a P2P network may not always be what they claim to be. File-swappers are vulnerable to risks such as viruses and unwelcome content. They can also be at risk of leaks of personal details possibly resulting in identity theft. Because of these dangers users should be especially careful when using P2P services.
As well as the phone network, most modern mobile phones come with Bluetooth and WiFi technology to let them talk to headsets, computers and even the internet without wires or cables. Both WiFi and Bluetooth let users transfer, or “sideload”, a song to other devices, like mobile phones.
Social networking sites like MySpace, Bebo and Facebook are internet or mobile-based communities where people can connect, communicate, and create and share content with others. You can create your own pages and post messages or upload your own videos, photos and music for others to see. Social networking sites do raise legal issues when copyrighted music is involved, but for the person using them, just watching a video or listening to a song is usually legal. The legal problems start if you do more – for example, copying the song on to your computer or distributing it, adding it to your playlist and inviting others to stream it, or adding the track as background music to a video you are producing.
One of the risks with P2P is that children may come across unwelcome content such as viruses, pornographic or violent images. Some files are purposely misnamed to trick people into downloading them. Because of the way P2P services work, filtering tools that can block offensive content like porn or violent images and video on websites are not effective in blocking the same content when made available through P2P. This leaves children at risk.
Some P2P software lets users “chat” with other file-sharers, most of them strangers, so the same concerns and rules about chatting on the internet should apply here too. See Childnet’s www.chatdanger.com website.
P2P software opens “doors” in your computer which may compromise privacy and security. It is possible to inadvertently share private and confidential details including financial information with other file-sharers.
Some P2P programmes come with extra software, called “spyware”. This may report which websites you visit to marketing companies, or even record your passwords and send them to fraudsters.
File-sharers’ computers may be vulnerable to viruses infecting other machines on the P2P networks and to people trying to control computers remotely. In many instances remotely controlled computers are used to send unsolicited emails or spam without the knowledge of the owner.
Copyright can seem confusing, but it applies to digital music just as much as it does the physical CD. Copyright rules protect the artist and creator and allow them to be rewarded for their work. Some people are happy for you to copy or use their work for free, but most artists and musicians rely on copyright law to guarantee an income.
Copying music you’ve bought to your computer or player is a common activity which can generally be done without legal consequences. However distributing a song to others without the permission of the rights holders is a very different story. Unauthorised copying and distribution of copyrighted music is breaking the law, and that includes file-swapping of any copyrighted music on the best-known P2P networks such as Limewire. The recording industry has taken action against many people who have done this, with some large fines resulting.
Parents and carers can be held responsible for what happens on the family computer even if they are not themselves engaged in illegal activity.
1. Talk with the music lovers in your home Understand how your children are using the computer and how they access and share music and what else on the computer might be accessible to others. Discuss copyright and who loses out when songs get distributed for free on the internet. Consider what would happen if you faced legal action – who would pay the bill or lose out if their internet access was disconnected?
2. Check your computer Be aware of what is on your family computer – whether you or another member of the household put it there. Make sure that your computer is protected against viruses and spyware and has firewall software installed. You can generally get free anti-virus software from your Internet Service Provider (ISP). Up to date anti-virus software can screen most things downloaded to your computer, including spyware (but not violent images and porn) that comes from P2P services.
If you are using a wireless internet connection, you can easily secure the connection from hacking. Contact your ISP for more information.
Download free software on www.ifpi.org/dfc/downloads/dfc.html that will help you identify music files and uninstall P2P software.
3. Explore the Web’s legal music There are scores of legal music retailers on the Web and these sites are safe and guarantee sound quality. They offer millions of songs of all genres and periods online. There is a wide variety of ways to discover and buy music online; you can, for example, download individual songs or albums, stream music through an online radio or listen to a huge library of tracks on your computer or music player for a monthly subscription.
For links to over 500 legal music retailers worldwide, go to www.pro-music.org/musiconline.htm and find a service that operates in your country.
Many good teaching materials exist to help teachers cover these issues in the classroom, and help meet curriculum requirements. Below is a small selection of links to teachers classroom aids, advice and resources. For a full selection go to: www.pro-music.org/parentsandteachers
1. Talk with the music lovers in your home Encourage students to think about how they listen to music, and what music means to them. Discuss the guidance in this leaflet. Hand out and use the advice tips on the pull-out card about using the internet and mobile phones. Ask them to browse the legal online stores and music streaming services via www.pro-music.org. Get them to think about why respecting copyright is like respecting rules on plagiarism. Suggest they research the music industry and think about the work that goes into producing a record, and what jobs are involved.
2. Check your computer Increasingly schools are covering the ethical and safety issues of using the internet. The issues of copyright are very relevant here and can be taught in a range of subject areas including ICT, Citizenship and Creative Arts.
3. Explore the Web’s legal music Many uses of copyrighted music in the classroom for teaching purposes are allowed by exceptions in the law that apply to educational institutions. To ensure that you are complying with the law you can check an online resource like www.licensing-copyright.org, which offers advice about licensing for schools.
In some cases music is made available free of charge. For example, a Creative Commons License typically allows free use of content if it is not for commercial purposes. It is always important to verify this. More information on Creative Commons Licenses can be found online. http://creativecommons.org.
For everything you want to know about music online including what’s legal and what’s not, see: www.pro-music.org/parentsandteachers.
If you come across illegal content on the internet you can report it at see www.inhope.org. (National hotlines do not handle copyright issues.)
See www.getnetwise.org for details of tools to help protect your computer. For a free programme that will help you identify music files and uninstall P2P software, go to: www.ifpi.org/dfc/downloads/dfc.html.
For up-to-date information for parents on children’s internet safety issues see www.netfamilynews.org.
PhonepayPlus have produced an advice leaflet on using text/SMS subscription services: www.phonepayplus.org.uk/pdfs_news/ConsumerGuide.pdf.
Go check out Childnet’s guide at www.childnet.com/music and for safety guidance on Instant Messenger, chat, games, mobiles and e-mail, see Childnet’s www.chatdanger.com website.
Visit the QCA for details about curriculum requirements: http://curriculum.qca.org.uk/subjects. See sections on Citizenship and ICT, in particular the impact of Technology (UK).
For information on how to secure your school’s networks go to: www.pro-music.org/pdfs/Copyright_Use_and_Security_Guide-Academic.pdf.
For WIPO’s “The Arts and Copyright” information book and lesson plans as well as a template of a simple permission letter. Visit: www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/freepublications/en/copyright/935/wipo_pub_935.pdf.
This guide for parents and teachers has been written by children’s charity Childnet International, with support from Pro-Music and Netfamily news.org.
The views in this guide are solely those of Childnet. Childnet is a non-profit organisation working to help make the internet a great and safe place for children. Registered as a charity in the UK (number 1080173).
Pro-Music is an international music sector education campaign about digital music. This guide is supported by Pro-Music member organisations representing musicians, performers, artists, major and independent record companies, publishers, managers and retailers across the music industry. To order copies of this leaflet e-mail: parents@pro-music.org.
© Childnet International 2005. All rights reserved.
