CNet’s Eliot Van Buskirk looks at some “legal MP3” sites which are no more legal than free P2P software: “100% Legal MP3s,” my foot!
What these sites sell is something you can get for free from any number of Web sites: client software for accessing P2P networks such as Kazaa, WinMX, and Gnutella, along with some simple instructions on how to use them. As for the $25 charge to your credit card? None of that goes to the record labels, as some users might assume. That money generally goes to Internet entrepreneurs (actually, they’re closer to parasites) who developed none of the software or the networks their so-called products use. As for you? The fact that you paid $25 to some guy in Romania changes nothing except your bank account balance. Your potential legal risk of being sued by the RIAA for making music available for sharing is unchanged.
