People break the law each time they download music.

They call it file sharing, but stealing is the only way to put it.

The music piracy market, at $4.6 billion, is greater than the legitimate music market everywhere in the world except the United States and Japan, according to a July article in The Hollywood Reporter.

Music-piracy eats away at the economy.

It hurts the artists, all the people who work for the artists, writers, producers, and record companies.

The Recording Industry Association of America, in an attempt to combat this problem, recently sued 261 people who allegedly used file-sharing sites to download songs illegally.

According to a Newsweek poll, more than half interview said they would be less likely to downloaded music since the crackdown.

Some children who downloaded music regularly were targeted by the RIAA.

Now parents are being held responsible even if they had no idea what their kids were up to.

Perhaps these parents should purchase software programs that monitor Internet use.

Record companies hope to develop software programs which would “sabotage the computers and Internet connections of people who download pirated music,” according to a May Chattanooga Times Free Press article.

While this sounds promising, federal and state wiretapping laws may prohibit use of such software.

Software cannot be the solution. Parents need to teach their children that downloading music illegally is wrong.

Do you or your children want to be classified as a thief?

Do you want to pay stiff fines to the record companies?

Don’t download music illegally.