Downloading And Copying Music

[stagefairy]

I posted this in the open mic, but I decided to move it when nobody responded. Will someone here answer my questions?

I'm sure this has been discussed before, but I'm new and I did a search that didn't come up with anything, so here goes...

A friend and I were discussing music downloading and copying. In this age of high speed internet and CD burners, getting free music (stealing?) has never been easier. I live in Canada where the courts deem it legal to download music off of the internet for personal use. It's considered 'sharing'. But obviously everything that is legal is not moral (i.e. abortion). So, I have a few things I would like opinions on. Is downloading music off the internet wrong and considered stealinng if it is legal? Some musicians and artists encourage it, because it helps their bands and music gain popularity, others feel like it makes them lose money that would have been spent on their CDs. Personally, I am of the opinion that it musicians deserve to be paid for their work and that if you are downloading in lieu of buying CD's that's wrong. What about downloading to sample music you are unsure about, in order to know if you want to spend your money on a CD?

The other thing I am wondering about is making mixed CDs? I know making backup copies of CD's for personal use is okay, but that one shouldn't be distributing these 'backups' to all of their friends. What about song mixes though? If you have bought all the the CD's in the first place but want to make for instance, a mix of songs for your best friend of all the songs that are special to you both. Would copying those particular songs onto one CD and giving it to your friend be wrong? You have already paid for these songs by buying the CD and a mix of these choice songs is unavailable to buy. I am unsure about this.

Also, if downloading music is wrong in every case, what about taping music off of the radio? Would this also be wrong? Or taping movies off of TV? I know I am getting extreme, but I am only trying to make a point and find where the line should be drawn without being too lax or too scrupulous.

I would love input about each of these angles of music copying/downloading/sharing. Thanks.