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Legal Music Downloading at UNC Charlotte


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The Student Government Association of UNC Charlotte recognizes and understands the issues of illegal music downloading from its students. In the past, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has fined & sued UNC Charlotte students for downloading music illegally, thus forcing them to drop of school, and go into debt to finance legal fees.
Legal trouble is certainly not what we wish upon our students - there are many viable alternatives available to illegally downloading music that are safe and cost effective. In the 2007 - 2008 school year, the SGA Executive Cabinet researched alternative solutions to downloading music illegally - which led us to two endorsements:

Recommended Free Music Service:
Last.fm

Last.fm is an online music listening service that is entirely free to the user. Last.fm has an extensive music library, that also incorporates Facebook-like social features for enhanced interaction. The major disadvantage to Last.fm is that music is streamed from online - thus the music cannot be saved to your computer or portable playing device such as an iPod. The following is an official description of Last.fm from their website:
“Last.fm is a service that keeps track of what music you listen to, and then produces a large number of features personalized to you. You can use Last.fm to listen to music, find out about artists you may like, other people with similar music taste, gigs in your local area, charts and quilts for your personal site, as well as much more.”
Recommended Payment Music Service:
iTunes
iTunes is the industry’s leading digital music store and player. iTunes can import any music CD’s you already own, or songs can be purchased from within iTunes for 99¢ each or $9.99 for a full album. Once music is purchased from the iTunes store, it is legally yours to keep, and is able to be played on your computer or iPod. The following is an official description of the iTunes store from Apple’s website:
“Imagine an entertainment superstore open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. One that delivers anything you want, instantly. Shop the iTunes Store for music, movies, TV shows, iPod games, audiobooks, free podcasts, and more. And you can give as good as you get with iTunes gifts.”