NOTE: I wrote a similar essay back in 2014, but this article focuses on both the ethics and practical solutions to the issue and was originally written for a Church magazine audience. After my internship ended, I never got around to submitting it and have instead decided to publish it here!
The internet supplies our lives with endless opportunities. But unfortunately, these opportunities often seem to blur the line between right and wrong. We probably won’t be harmed by cat videos or Facebook Likes. Yet because we have such quick access to so much content with just a few clicks or taps, it’s easier than ever to end up somewhere online we don’t want to be with vulgar, pornographic, or other morally questionable material.
It’s also easy to feel less responsible for what we say or do online since we’re “anonymous.” A teasing word or a truth-bending response seems unimportant because we don’t see any victims or negative consequences from such small interactions. Many illegal acts might seem like no big deal because they’re so easy to do online.
To make matters even worse, the internet often disguises destructive activities to appear normal and acceptable. For example, we can be easily confused about when it’s okay to download or copy music and when it’s not. And if we’re not careful, we can be deceived into justifying trends that, however common, are offensive to God and our spirits.
A Piratic Epidemic
Unfortunately, illegal downloading of music and other media is commonplace. It’s estimated that 35% of all music buyers in the U.S. have acquired music illegally. This has led to the loss of $12.5 billion in the U.S. economy—and the loss of more than 71,000 jobs—per year.[1]
Yet there scarcely seems to be a difference between streaming music on Spotify or Amazon and converting Youtube music videos into downloadable mp3 files. What does it matter if I borrow a CD from a friend or from the library and rip the tracks onto my computer?
It matters. A lot.
Don’t Rationalize “Small” Sins
For the Strength of Youth is clear on this subject: “Obey the laws that govern sharing music, movies, and other copyrighted items…. If you lie, steal, shoplift, or cheat, you damage your spirit and your relationships with others…. Do not rationalize that being dishonest is acceptable, even though others may think it does not matter.”[2]
Following copyright law matters not because God is worried about the paychecks of musicians; it matters to Him because He cares about who we are becoming. In some ways, small acts of dishonesty can prove just as destructive as grand acts of theft and robbery, because if we “justify in committing a little sin” (2 Nephi 28:8), it becomes easier each time to commit a little more until we’ve dug ourselves into a pit that’s very hard to climb back out of.
My Story
Growing up, I didn’t have such a solid understanding of music copyright laws myself. For years I was under the impression that any way I could rip streamed music from Youtube onto my hard drive was all right. Like many people around me—family; friends; roommates; even fellow missionaries—my understanding of illegal music downloading was incomplete.
Years later, when I came to a clearer understanding of what was legal and what wasn’t, I did everything in my power to do restitution, spending quite a bit of money to make up for all the copyrighted songs I hadn’t paid for. I found peace knowing that I had done what I could to honestly obey the law of the land, and I resolved to be more careful in how I acquired music moving forward.
The point of sharing this isn’t to talk up my own righteousness; my experience just serves as a small glimpse into how common music piracy is, even among those with high standards—and how easy it is to misunderstand or overlook copyright law.
How Do I Know If I’m Breaking Copyright Laws?
But maybe some of us don’t live these laws because we don’t fully understand them. That was certainly the case for me when I was younger. After all, copyright laws are complicated, and the age of the internet has advanced the way we access media so rapidly that it’s often unclear what exactly is legal and what’s not. Although these laws vary depending on where you live, here are a few questions to help guide you in deciding whether downloading or copying a particular piece of music is okay or not.
1. Is the music copyrighted?
Any music you could buy from a store (online or in person) is protected under copyright. Some music unavailable for purchase is also copyrighted. Most streamed music will have some kind of copyright indication; Youtube videos, for example, often indicate in the description whether the music is protected under copyright or free to download. If in doubt, look it up!
2. Is the musician being compensated for it?
Usually, music streaming is funded through advertisements or subscriptions, such as on Pandora and Spotify. Otherwise, if the music is being neither purchased nor compensated for by the streaming service, the musicians are not receiving the money owed to them for their work.
3. Is the copy or download avoiding a legal channel of purchase?
Ask yourself why you’re downloading or making a copy (either digital or CD). If it’s because you want to share music with someone or make a personal copy without having to pay for it, then you’re most likely breaking copyright laws. Just a few common methods of avoiding purchase include torrent downloads, ripping library CDs, copying USB files, and burning CD tracks onto blank CDs. If you’re not sure, check the copyright laws of where you live.
Small Obedience Brings Great Happiness
Once we understand the importance of music copyrights, we’ve more responsible than ever to respect them. Illegal music copying and downloading may be a widespread practice with little immediate impact on others, but we cannot use that to justify being dishonest. The Savior said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, wo be unto him that lieth to deceive because he supposeth that another lieth to deceive, for such are not exempt from the justice of God” (D&C 10:28).
I have a solid testimony that God is aware of every small decision we make, be it good or bad. He wants us to be happy, and I don’t think at the judgment bar Christ will be asking us how many cups of coffee we drank or how many songs we didn’t pay for. But He is interested in who we are becoming through those small decisions, because He knows that by expecting much of ourselves, we’ll find greater lasting happiness. As Joy D. Jones said, “A succession of small, successfully kept promises leads to integrity.”[3] God knows our divine potential, and that’s why He asks us to strive for perfect honesty in everything from Supreme Court testimonies down to a $.99 iTunes purchase.
[1]Jovana Letić, “Piracy Statistics for 2020—People Would Still Download a Car,” DataProt, Nov. 14, 2019, https://dataprot.net/statistics/piracy-statistics; “The True Cost of Sound Recording Piracy to the U.S. Economy,” Recording Industry Association of America, accessed Dec. 7, 2020, https://www.riaa.com/reports/the-true-cost-of-sound-recording-piracy-to-the-u-s-economy/.
[2] For the Strength of Youth (booklet, 2011), 13, 19.
[3] Joy D. Jones, “A Sin-Resistant Generation,” general conference, Apr. 2017.
The Commonplace Notebook 