Today there are countless ways in which to download music off the Internet, as well as countless options of where to download MP3s. One may download their MP3s from a service such as the iTunes Music Store, Yahoo Music or eMusic that charges per song or album. Or one may take advantage of "cereal box" specials that offer free music downloads with the purchase of a certain product.

Or one may download MP3s for free through BitTorrent, Internet Relay Chat (IRC), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), or Peer-to-peer (P2P) services, such as Kazaa. These are the gray areas, if you will, when it comes to the legality of downloading MP3s.

From photocopying a page from a library book to recording a television show to TIVO and transferring to a DVD, therein lays a gray area of what is acceptable and what is down-right illegal. Napster became hugely popular not because it offered a great way to share files but because one could download countless MP3s without paying for them.

Either way one sees it, downloading MP3s is incredibly popular with music lovers. Apple Computer Inc. recently sold their one-billionth song through its iTunes service. This proves consumers are willing to pay for their music, but what if they already purchased the music on cassette tape or compact disc? Is there a need to pay for it again to have it in MP3 format?

Therein lays another issue within the gray area. Is downloading an MP3 from a bittorrent illegal if you already own the song? The arguments for this issue go on and on. The music recording industry states it is stealing because consumers paid for the song in one particular format (e.g. cassette tape) and are not entitled to another format without paying for it. Music fans argue they paid for the private use of the song, not the format it resided in.

Condoning illegal activity, I am not; however, as long as you're not distributing this content either online or selling it on the streets, it's extremely unlikely you'll actually be caught and prosecuted for simply backing up your media files or downloading occasional songs from the Internet.

Music artists are even encouraging this by offering some of their songs on their Web sites available to download for free. It's a great way to build up a fan base and attract new listeners.

In conclusion, have fun with your MP3 collection and don't let all the lawsuits and negative press keep you from purchasing an MP3 digital music player or from downloading music off the Internet. Play by the basic rules and you'll be surprised at how much fun you can have.

###

For more information on MP3s, visit http://www.themp3plug.com