Downloading Music IS Illegal!!?

As soon as you start browsing the Internet, you'll get a headache. A big one. The reason is not any of my spells, because I can't cast any spells, and even if I could, you are not my enemies, so...it's all about being on the right side of the "legal content" wall, my friends. I know it's sad, but the fact that downloading music is illegal gets closer to becoming reality with each day. No, we're not talking about the "Is downloading music illegal?" question, we're talking about RIAA's actions and their result. Do you want to know what they did lately? Here's the news...

Once upon a time, there was a nice site, called Muxtape. As you can see by visiting the link, now it's unavailable, and they claim it's only going to be for a short time, until they "sort out a problem with the RIAA." It's good to see they are optimistic about that, but let's see what happened this time, shall we?

Created this March by Justin Ouellette, with a initial funding of $95,000 provided by Jakob Lodwick, Justin's former boss at Vimeo.com, Muxtape was(let's hope it will also "be" the same, as soon as the RIAA pulls back) a website allowing its users to upload entire MP3 playelists, based on the idea of a mixtape. The funny part is that the funding contract was written on a napkin, but the serios part is that RIAA is currently targeting them because...downloading music is illegal, we all (don't want to) know that!

Everyone was expecting for the RIAA to kick in Muxtape's door, but here's what Ouellette had to say about the idea behind it, and the difference between Muxtape and the likes of Napster - "Its intended purpose is to introduce you to new music that you would then hopefully go and buy." He also said that many record labels are excited about the ability of the site to bring new music to consumers, but it seems Muxtape is not the only one of its kind, since imeem, SeeqPod or Anywhere.FM offer about the same user experience, only that...

...Muxtape needs to find a way out of this, and quickly! The scenario that has most chances of happening is that Muxtape will sign an agreement and pay licensing fees, but since even the big ones like Pandora are already considering closing the gates due to high royalty rates...could it be any chance for Muxtape to find a way through? Well, that remains to be seen, but...

...the sad truth seems to be this - RIAA is slowy turning enjoyment into a real pain, and if you really want to stay away from trouble, as a user, you should remember that downloading music is illegal...as long as you're not paying for it!