When you first glance at this question you may be torn by your answer to it. Sometimes it may be hard to decide if downloading music online is legal. This is especially true if you’ve never done it before. The truth of the matter is that the answer is both yes and no. It depends on which site you go on to download the music there are several sites that are legal. There are also other sites that are illegal and then there are some that appear to be legal but that are not. Sometimes it can be hard to decide which sites are legitimate and which ones aren’t.

Most of the sites that it is not legal to download music from are peer to peer sites. These sites include torrents as well as programs that directly connect the users. Usually the programs are free for the user to download and use. In some cases the sites offer two different versions of the program in which one is free to use while the other boasts higher download speeds in which you have to pay a minimal fee for every month. In either case you’re still downloading the music illegally because you’re not actually paying for the song. You’re actually just paying them to use the better version of their program to have higher transfer speeds.

Some sites you may have trouble telling if it is legal to download music from them. There are several sites that appear to be legal as they require a monthly fee to use. However in reality these sites are similar to peer to peer sites as they are not licensed distributers of the music. These types of sites promote themselves in a manner that will lead you to believe that they are legitimate by including legal information that cautions users about downloading music illegally. These sites are easily identifiable as they don’t give clear and specific information to the user.

If you’re looking to download music online in a legal manner then you can relax as there are many sites that allow you to do so. There are many popular sites online that offer unlimited listening for a reasonable price every month of about $10. Usually these sites will also offer legal downloads of music for $1 per song. These sites are 100% legal and are licensed distributers of the music. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is the company that licenses such websites to sell the music. If you’re looking to download music legally from the internet, then you’ll want to find a site that has been licensed by the RIAA.

If you decide that you’re going to download music from a site but you are unsure of the legitimacy of the site you should do some background research on it. In addition you can always contact the RIAA and find out if the site is actually authorized by them or not. It’s best to take the time to do such research if you want to download music online legally.