Starting on Thursday, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) says it will gather evidence against users of "peer-to-peer" software such as Kazaa, and file $150,000 (�90,000) lawsuits against them

The RIAA says its sales have been hit hard by the software, which allows users to swap music, films, and other files over the internet.

Are you a 'net pirate'? Should web music swapping be banned? Will moves by record companies to sue customers be counterproductive? Tell us what you think.

This debate is now closed. Read your comments below.

The following comments reflect the balance of views we have received.

The move by the record companies to sue file sharers would do more harm than good Gorian Hood, St. Lucia

Peer-to-peer file sharing has become one of the most welcomed evolutions on the net. Most of the times songs are downloaded almost for preview purposes. I, for one, go out and purchase the original CD after listening to a download version. It just feels good to have the actual CD, with the original photos, and jackets and knowing that you are supporting an artist whose music you love. The move by the record companies to sue file sharers would do more harm than good. They would be suing the same persons who buy their music and support them.
Gorian Hood, St. Lucia

After reading many of the comments on here, I am very much concerned. Many people have put up a variety of excuses to explain their rationale for stealing music. As a musician myself, I am offended by theft, and thus do not do it. When I see the excuses for doing so, I have yet another reason to worry for the people of the future (of which I am one). Many of you need to take a hard, serious look at yourselves and not make excuses.
David, USA

Music should be free

The record industry must accept that it won't be as rich as in the past Tim, amateur musician, UK

for everyone, and all but the most greedy and shallow musicians I've met agree with this - they make plenty of money by playing live. People will always buy CDs because it's nice to have the whole package etc, but the record industry must accept that it won't be as rich as in the past.
Tim, amateur musician, UK

I know many 'unknown' musicians who are freely distributing their music online. In this way, file sharing helps musicians promote themselves. As for caring about the profits of the RIAA's affiliates I can only say, haven't these rip off merchants had their day? Do the overpaid musical 'elite' need their interests protected in such an aggressive manner?
Dave, UK

Point-2-Point networks and file sharing are a natural evolution of the digital age. It is not simply a question of "banning" them, because the technology will always adapt to circumvent any conditions placed upon it.
Stephen Henry, Scotland, UK

I like to hear a track or two from the albums before I buy them Nick, UK

I have thousands of CDs that I have bought from record shops. I continue to buy 2 or 3 albums a week on CD. I am a music addict. But I also download songs. I do this because I like to hear a track or two from the albums before I buy them, to see whether I like them or not. If I had no opportunity to listen to them in this way first I wouldn't buy them. How am I hurting the music industry?
Nick, UK

The Internet has opened a new world. The music Industry is simply light years behind this revolution. Wake up and make up for the lost time and we will get back to buying CD again.
Simone, Italy

They can still package the music in a way that will make me buy a CD! Gavin Harris, Wales

Perhaps the "music" industry should make the packaging for the music a lot more interesting. The best album I got recently had an entire book of photos that were relevant to the songs. The music industry has lost the control of the music, but they can still package the music in a way that will make me buy a CD!
Gavin Harris, Wales

I've just been to dotmusic.com to check out legal downloading of music. What a nightmare! It's unbelievably complicated, and the restrictions on what you can do with the music you download are draconian. Make it simple and easy to use, or no-one will use it. I can't believe they expect you to pay for a track, and then keep on paying over and over again for a licence to play what you've already bought! Now that ought to be illegal!
Brian, UK

Since when has music belonged to anyone? Are you telling me that if a band stands on a street corner i can be prosecuted for humming it later down the street?
James Clarke, UK

When looking for music for my wedding video, I found the easiest method was to browse the web. When I did try the "official" music websites I found them slow and not as easy to find what I want. After reading a recent BBC news article I tried the RIAA recommended www.pro-music.org - slow with no online music. If the official sites were of better quality than the free sites then I might be tempted to use them.
Stewart, UK

File swapping is not akin to pillaging and murder Stephen, England

"Piracy" is such an emotive word. The correct terms for the acts being committed are "unauthorised distribution" or "breach of copyright". File swapping is not akin to pillaging and murder on the high seas! Of course, by likening the file swappers to pirates, it is easy for the RIAA to create a negative image of them.
Stephen, England

Most of the music on CDs is twaddle. I've spent hundreds on computer games, music and films in the last few years. Not any more. I realised how much I was being ripped off, and now I'm getting my money back. If you go by what the record companies say, soon you'll be sued for whistling a song without the proper licenses....
James M, Glasgow, Scotland

Suing your customers is only going to make them bitter against the companies and discourage them from buying their music - they will be digging their own graves!!
Triston Smith, UK

If you download music for free this is the person you are really hurting Nigel, UK

A percentage of the money that buys a CD goes to the performers or writers of the music. I don't just mean your major act but the relative unknown who has a wife, kids, mortgage and a small record deal. They will tour the country performing at small clubs and pubs promoting the album in the hope that royalties will make up their touring losses and give them a living without taking a second job. If you download music for free this is the person you are really hurting.
Nigel, UK

Everyone against music swapping states how it's unfair on the artist. If all of the �12+ for an album goes to the artist then people might think differently. Fact of the matter is that the record industry that publishes the music wants more profit, and probably only pays the artist �2 of the final cut. Why should us consumers have to pay the fat cats when we can download for a fraction or none of the production costs?
Mike, UK

Well, at least the artists should welcome it. Aren't most of them telling us that they're in it because they love making music and money isn't important? Free music distribution makes more people listening to music, which surely has to be a good thing. Where is the point of having to sell literally millions of CDs just for the salaries of a few directors (have a quick look at the annual report of EMI, you will be gobsmacked).
Volker, England (ex Germany)

This whole scenario is a bit of a farce Garry Whiting, Scotland

I must say that this whole scenario is a bit of a farce. If the record industry were to get itself in gear and start charging sensible prices for their products - particularly CD singles with four versions of the same tune - perhaps the "problem" would not be so great. Perhaps like most others, I download material which would otherwise be hard to get, or the odd "one hit wonder" etc. If I enjoy most of an artist's music, I BUY their recordings, therefore supporting them and encouraging continued output.
Garry Whiting, Scotland

It is not stealing. If I buy the daily paper and choose to pass it on or share in reading it with anyone I like, am I committing a criminal offence? People in the entertainment industry have to realise the reality of what they produce. People have been "illegally" sharing music for ages, probably everyone in the industry once recorded some music onto a cassette. Trying to charge us for every song we share is like the Amazon Indians charging us for oxygen.
Andrew Bunyan, NZ

As a buyer, I prefer a legal CD, when I can afford it. So, I choose carefully what I'm buying, and the internet gives me that opportunity. And frankly, if you're not a teenager, there isn't much to choose from. I live in Croatia and here it is VERY hard to find, hear or buy non-mainstream music, so in a way, you are forced to a 'net piracy', if you want to listen to what you like, not what bores you stupid.
Ivana, Croatia

Why do I have to depend on record companies to release the type of music I like? Bass, UK

Record companies live in a dimension. They expect us to limit our tastes of music to theirs and to pay excessively for this. Why on earth do I have to pay the price of an entire record for just one song? Why do I have to depend on record companies to release the type of music I like? Why bother with CDs when I can have so much more flexibility with the mp3 format? The music listener now expects flexibility and instead of responding, the record companies only seek to secure their pockets.
Bass, UK

The general tone of this discussion reflects an almost total lack of morality on the part of those who think taking that which does not belong to them is anything other than stealing. Justification for stealing based on the alleged evils of the true owner of that which is being stolen is nonsense.
Bill, USA

Does the RIAA have jurisdiction across the planet? Can they sue someone in Canada or Nigeria for sharing music? This now becomes an international legal matter. How will they enforce it all?
Zelko, Canada

File sharing means more people get to hear music Ayjay, Sweden

CD sales may be down, and people sharing MP3s is probably the cause. The record companies are saying this is killing music. I think file sharing means more people get to hear music, and get to listen to more diverse bands. Glastonbury sold out in 18 hours this year, a lot of the crowd will have only heard some of the bands on MP3, and want to see the live act. There will be nothing to stop the downloaders from getting the music they want to hear for free, but nothing will replace seeing a live band. If the bands no longer make millions from album sales, and have to play live to make a living I thing the music industry will be better off.
Ayjay, Sweden

I appear to be one of the few people left who actually doesn't mind paying for things. I pay for DVDs, CDs and computer software. I would be happy to pay for downloaded music from legitimate sites, and I expect that many people are the same. Unfortunately, the record companies are too afraid that music distributed in this way would be even easier to pirate, so they won't provide such a service. It'll probably need the setting up of a new internet-only record label to kick these companies into action.
Ian, UK

Such a lot of hot air. This can never be stopped. Shut Kazaa down and many more will spring up. Pirates can move to jurisdictions outside the reach of the US courts. The RIAA should put up with it or lower their prices.
Nick Toye, UK

I use peer-2-peer networks to preview tracks off a album I have an interest in. Before I used buy an album listen to it once and get bored with it. Now

I can download an album before it's released to see if its worth forking out 12-15 pounds. Matt, UK

I can download an album before it's released to see if its worth forking out �12-15. Also, MP3 players are more portable than CD players, easy to connect to PCs and sometimes cheaper.
Matt, UK

I'm not a big music fan - I think I've bought 2 CDs in my entire life (maybe 2 vinyls in the good old days also). I have, however, downloaded a handful (less than 20) tracks off the net in the last 3 years. I have a friend who has downloaded thousands of songs from the net. He's also bought over 400 CDs in his life - many of which he would never have bought if he'd not been able to download unknown tracks by unknown bands. I would never have bought the 20 tracks I've downloaded - so have I took money from the "financially ruined" music companies? My friend has spent a lot of money on music that he wouldn't have spent if not able to download first. Is he the "pirate" the music companies want?
Jay, UK

I believe the actions of music pirates and the industry alike are wrong. Those that get their music exclusively by free downloads don't understand exactly how much harm this is causing musicians, and to a lesser extent, the labels. Only a handful of artists are really rich with new artists depending almost exclusively on album sales to make ends meet. On the other hand,

the industry is doing itself no favours by its current ways of fighting piracy. Melissa Whaley, Sacramento

the industry is doing itself no favours by its current ways of fighting piracy. It's doing nothing to acknowledge the complaints of those that would buy music. Namely that CD's are too expensive and there needs to be an easy way to legally download music on the internet - more services like Apple's. Still, music fans are in denial if they think that they have a right to free music. Artists don't have a right to come into the houses of downloaders and take food from the fridge because they don't have money for their own groceries because no one is buying their CD's, do they?
Melissa Whaley, Sacramento, CA USA

The record companies are so greedy - CDs are way overpriced and then they complain that people swap music over the internet! They haven't adapted to a world with the internet and they cannot stop people doing something which is so easy and fundamentally so innocent!
Catherine Mottram, UK

Net piracy isn't killing music, it's keeping it alive John M, UK

I have discovered many new artists through downloading, and have then gone and bought their albums. I have a collection of over 300 CDs (legally bought), a third of which I would never have discovered if not for systems such as Kazaa. Net piracy isn't killing music, it's keeping it alive.
John M, United Kingdom

The MP3 has caused the decline of CD sales, but people are buying more of the songs they like. They use the poor quality downloads to preview the songs in an album. No longer can the music industry sell an album containing a single good track - now each album must contain at least three hits. The sales of individual albums still break records, but the public now have the means to avoid buying rubbish - hence the dramatic fall in revenue. Profits will rise again, but only if the industry sells the songs we want to buy.
Edward Asquith, UK

Let's be honest, it is immoral to swap music illegally (breaking copyright) and stopping royalties from reaching the artists, but as long as the record publishers rake in billions in profit no one is going to care, why should we?
Edward Blackburn, UK

The music industry has been found guilty of price fixing Andy, Plymouth, UK

Yes I'm a net pirate. I download all the latest tunes for free, from a peer-to-peer site, over a home-based broadband connection. This is not just because I know a good deal when I see one, nor is it to take money from the pockets of the poor, starving pop idols. I have been buying music since I was seven, and I'm getting my own back for the last 22 years! The music industry has recently been found guilty of price fixing and we all know how much cheaper music is abroad. I say what goes around, comes around!
Andy, Plymouth, UK

Yes it is theft, and yes it should be banned. But... I'll still continue to download the music (and movies). Why would anyone want to pay cash for these products if they are free?
Steve H, Great Britain

I'm a huge fan of all kinds of music, but I'm fundamentally convinced that music swapping should be banned. Obtaining music without paying for it is theft - the argument that many musicians and recording companies are rich and can afford it is a red herring.
John, England

They'll never catch everyone who shares music Richard Pasco, UK

Bring it on. They'll never catch everyone who shares music. Music CDs are overpriced and musicians are overpaid and under-talented. Maybe if the record industry invested in real music rather than manufactured pap, they might make some money.
Richard Pasco, UK

If the music industry wants to reduce it losses to pirates they should try reducing their prices. People would much rather buy legal copies than illegal copies, but with CDs being such a rip-off these days, more people will buy the cheaper pirate copies, like off the net, rather than legal copies.
Richard, Wales

I never fail to find it funny that they equate each pirated track to a lost sale when I know many people who would never even have the track if they'd had to buy it as part of a complete album like the RIAA would like them to.
AH, UK

If the record companies made a back catalogue of music to buy cheap, then I wouldn't have to download music. Basically, they are just looking for an excuse because they can't produce decent acts that everyone wants to buy. Downloading music has its benefits, and Mac have led the way, proving that people want a choice and they will pay for it.
George UK, UK