Frequently asked questions - British Music Industry

>> Can I download music online to decide if I want to buy it?
>> What if I brought the CD in a shop, but want to listen to it again from a different location, can I download it again without paying for it?
>> What’s the difference between downloading music and making it available for others to download, legally speaking?
>> If I want to use a song that I already own on a CD, but need it in a different format can I download it for use on my media player only?
>> What am I allowed to do with the CD’s that I have brought, legally speaking?
>> What if my 9 year old son downloads music without me knowing, am I still liable?

Can I download music online to decide if I want to buy it?

Yes - if you do so from a legitimate on-line site. There are many ways to sample music online in order to decide if you want to download it.
Some artists will allow you to download music for free on their sites if they want fans to sample their work and learn about concerts and albums they’re promoting. That is legal as it’s done with their permission.

Most legal services will also allow you to “sample” music for a short while (usually 30 seconds) so that you can decide if you want to buy it.
Another great way of sampling music to decide if you want to buy it is by subscribing to a legal service where you can “stream” music. This will allow you - once you’ve paid the subscription, like when you subscribe to a magazine – to listen to the music of your choice as many times as you want. If you like what you hear, you can then decide to buy the track and “download” it; this track will be yours regardless of whether you remain a subscriber or not.

Some online services are even starting to offer the option to listen to “music on the go” so you can subscribe to a service and listen to the music of your choice on your mp3 player.

What if I brought the CD in a shop, but want to listen to it again from a different location, can I download it again without paying for it?

When you bought your CD, you bought the right to listen to that particular CD as many times as you want (and CDs last a very long time!), wherever you take it. However buying that CD does not give you the right to go elsewhere and make another copy of that track from another source without paying for it!

What’s the difference between downloading music and making it available for others to download, legally speaking?

Downloading music can be legal or illegal, depending on whether the source is legal. Uploading—which is making music available to other people for download, such as through file-sharing—is virtually always illegal for consumers.

If I want to use a song that I already own on a CD, but need it in a different format can I download it for use on my media player only?

The laws vary by country; in some you can make a ‘personal’ copy from your own CDs, in others not. But no one in recent memory has been sued or prosecuted for this kind of personal copying. You may, however, get into trouble for ‘sharing’ copyrighted music around the internet. That is because, even if you’ve bought the music from a record shop or legal digital service, it doesn’t give you the right to ‘share’ it – i.e. make it available and distribute it to thousands of other people on an unauthorised peer-to-peer service.

What am I allowed to do with the CD’s that I have brought, legally speaking?

In buying a legitimate CD you have paid for the right to own the physical disc, to play it privately, and to pass on the same physical disc to another person. You have not bought the right to distribute copies, whether on CD-R discs or over the internet.

What if my 9 year old son downloads music without me knowing, am I still liable?

Any person who has engaged in illegal activity on the computer is responsible. If you own the computer or are the named internet account holder, you may also be held responsible even if you are not the one engaged in illegal activity. This is why it is so important to know what is happening on your computer.