Pirating music is a serious issue. While many know that we should pay respective music writers for their music, the temptation to get an illegal copy of their music for free is strong. However, even though one can get away with the act usually, it does not justify the act itself. Using virtue ethics, I will argue that it is immoral to pirate music.
Firstly, a virtuous person is lawful. Laws are made to keep society together; without them, everyone would just take what they need, defend for themselves against the attacks of others, and live in continual fear and danger of violent death [1]. If one can simply ignore laws against illegal music downloads, then by extension any and all laws can be ignored too. Regardless of whether a law is in a grey area or even questionable, a virtuous person would respect and follow the law in order to maintain order in society, and thus would not illegally download music. …show more content…
Pirating music is equivalent to stealing from the copyright holders, which is dishonest and unjust. By pirating music, one also devalues the creator’s work – the music they produce is treated to be worth nothing, and it is unjust that it is treated as such.
On the other hand, some would argue that the music industry is hugely powerful, and has been ripping off consumers for years, and thus it is just to take from them. However, as seen from UK Hip-Hop label Son Records, online pirating has made it difficult to survive and the business has effectively shut down [2].
In conclusion, a virtuous person would not pirate music and thus it is immoral to do so. Though free music is just a click away, content creators deserve what they
Firstly, a virtuous person is lawful. Laws are made to keep society together; without them, everyone would just take what they need, defend for themselves against the attacks of others, and live in continual fear and danger of violent death [1]. If one can simply ignore laws against illegal music downloads, then by extension any and all laws can be ignored too. Regardless of whether a law is in a grey area or even questionable, a virtuous person would respect and follow the law in order to maintain order in society, and thus would not illegally download music. …show more content…
Pirating music is equivalent to stealing from the copyright holders, which is dishonest and unjust. By pirating music, one also devalues the creator’s work – the music they produce is treated to be worth nothing, and it is unjust that it is treated as such.
On the other hand, some would argue that the music industry is hugely powerful, and has been ripping off consumers for years, and thus it is just to take from them. However, as seen from UK Hip-Hop label Son Records, online pirating has made it difficult to survive and the business has effectively shut down [2].
In conclusion, a virtuous person would not pirate music and thus it is immoral to do so. Though free music is just a click away, content creators deserve what they