[james__bean]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LawnGnome /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ripping music you do own is illegal though as well. I don't think anyone here would be in the RIAA's good books, and that's something we all could agree, no?

This is a legal gray area. Some think it would fall under fair use, although the labels claim that it doesn't. In any case, it certainly is illegal if you have to bypass any encryption method to do it, ie DVD.

 

[Aman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knockturne /img/forum/go_quote.gif Radio stations certainly don't pay much and I doubt much of it goes to the musicians. To the people saying "get a better job" - what if you or someone close got sick and had to pay medical bills, and therefore you had to sell your music collection? Right now I can't get a better paying job, but I will have one in a few years. So why should I wait for a few years until I can afford it, when I'm going to be paying them eventually anyway?

Radio stations pay royalties almost expressly to the artists.

As for your second point - life isn't fair. I wouldn't all of the sudden start stealing and breaking my country's laws just because I needed to use the money towards more important things. As important as arts are for me, other things come first. If I broke my leg and had to pay obscene medical bills, I wouldn't start demoralizing my country's laws and finding excuses to steal other artists' works.