Various pier-to-pier internet programs allow us to share media and information anonymously at will. copy written songs, movies, and documents are shared freely between people for free at the expense of the creators or record label. pirating has exploded over the past 5 years to the point where trying to stop it is like trying to stop a train with a toothpick, its not going to happen. ever. while bands like metallic and korn try to fight it, and moviemakers in hollywood complain about it, the pirates rip media freely to distribute to anyone and everyone. the 3rd star was movie was available for download on the internet the night after its premier. the Disturbed cd Ten Thousand Fists was leaked onto the internet weeks before its release.

People who use this software to illegally download content are everyday people just like you and me. in the end pirating is just going to hurt everyone. the entertainers wont be getting money so they will either just quit the business or wont be able to keep entertaining because they wont have any money. this means that our entertainment will slowly fade away and the world will be a very dull place.

this may sound dismal and boring, but this software can also be very useful. say you want to go out and buy a movie youve never seen but have heard plenty of good things about. suppose you did buy it and you really didnt like it. instead of having wasted X amount of money on it, you could have downloaded it from the internet and watched it then went out and bought it. the same goes for music as well. if you hear a song you like from a band and are thinking about buying the cd, you can download other songs from the cd and see what you think before you go get it. all in all this whole situation helps as much as it hurts. while these bands and movies are slapped in the face it can also be used as constructive criticism. if a bands cd sales are down and they know their music is on the net, that can push them to write better songs or better yet have more interesting live performances. if a movie doesnt make much then maybe the writers could come up with a better story. but this is what you make of it and if you use it just to get free stuff then maybe you should think about all the people you are hurting