Choose from over 500,000 songs that you can use to mix and burn your own CDs with. All songs are professional quality MP3 audio.
CD Duplication and Copyright Laws
CD duplication for the general population became possible when
CD burners were first introduced for home computer use. While some
duplication is legal, some is not and the resulting copies are in
violation of federal copyright laws. To understand some of the
implications, consider the reason for copyright laws and the methods of
duplicating CDs.
Copyright laws were created to protect artists (ranging from the
musician to the technical writer) who depended on their creations for
income. For example, a technical writer might produce a manual on dive
rescue techniques. If someone else can simply copy the information,
they could market their own manual at a reduced price because they
don’t have time invested in research and writing of the book. The
original writer has then spent his time gathering information and
someone else will profit from that work.
If the material in that manual is not copyrighted, anyone can reproduce
the manual or the information. By copyrighting the information, the
writer and the company that produced the manual are protecting their
right to be the only ones able to sell the book. Retailers can purchase
the book and resell it to the public, but no one else can copy the
material and market it.
In most cases, music falls under the same copyright laws as the written
word. Sometimes, a song becomes outside the copyright laws because of
some extenuating factor, for example, the years that have passed since
it was written. Those exceptions don’t apply to most music and artists’
renditions of older songs are again subject to copyright laws. That
means that CD duplication of an artists’ new release of Yankee Doodle
Dandy will likely be copyrighted and you can’t duplicate the CD without
violating the law.
Remember that it is not only illegal for you to personally be involved
with CD duplication if the music is under copyright, but also to be in
possession of CDs that have been illegally duplicated.
