Evaluating Sources of Online Media: Is Your Source Legal?

Summary

Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to answer this question. And this statement already assumes that you have read and understood our primary page on File-Sharing and Copyright Law: How It Affects You. Even after you have familiarized yourself with the law, you may still need a strategy for making basic judgments about specific sites you visit. Legal content on the Internet can take many forms -- free and for-pay downloads, streaming sites, and even peer-to-peer (P2P) clients can be used to obtain legal content. This article will not attempt to put together a list of "legal" websites, which would quickly become obsolete. Instead, the goal of this article is to provide some tools that can help you make sound judgments about online sources of media, by asking yourself questions like, "How does the site make money?", "How are they getting their content?", and "What is the reputation of the site?"

Factors to Consider

To evaluate sources for media content, you can either try to rely on "known sources" or otherwise search for clues. "Known sources" can be straightforward -- the big players and major labels/studios often advertise where you can obtain their content legally. For lesser known resources, you can start by examining the page itself and looking for clues. We have developed a five-point checklist that you can use as a guideline to evaluating websites and other sources of digital media. You should evaluate all of these areas as a whole when considering the legitimacy of any sources for media content.

1. Revenue Source

To paraphrase Pratt Library: "In evaluating content from an Internet site, the 'follow the money rule' is always helpful. Where do the funds to produce the content on the site come from?...”

One important question to ask is, “How do they make money?" If the content is completely free, you should ask yourself “Why is it free?” Most legitimate sources of media content have an obvious source of revenue, however, both legal and illegal websites can support themselves through banner ads, paid downloads, subscriptions, and commercials in their streaming content. (This isn't to say there isn't completely free, legal content out there.) Here are a few ways companies can generate revenue from your love of media:

• Pay-Per-Download (examples: iTunes, Amazon Music) Also known as "a la carte", simply put, you pay for each file (song, track, video, movie, etc.). iTunes remains the dominant player in the a-la-carte market, with over six billion dollars in sales in January 2009.
• Subscription Downloads (examples: Rhapsody and Napster, Zune Store) In subscription-based download services, users pay a monthly rental fee for downloading as much music as they want. But once you cancel your subscription, you can no longer enjoy that content. The files are either deleted from your computer or simply de-activated (and in turn, become useless). Many of these services also allow users to "own" and keep a certain number of songs per month, which makes it a valuable option for many people.
• Advertising-based Streaming (Yahoo Music, Pandora, "Regular Radio") Most non-infringing streaming content is supported by some form of advertising. Whether a flash-based "pop-up" player with banner ads, or embedded commercials in the actual stream, websites love it because they can put ads in easily, and the record and music industry prefer this format because it is more difficult for consumers to make a copy of the content. Many "regular" radio stations now stream their stations online, maximizing their potential audience to "everyone on the internet".

Whether streaming or downloaded, you should consider the revenue model of the provider of the content. Does it seem likely that the artists and producers are making any money from the sale and distribution of their work on this site? However, there is nothing to keep anyone from using these business models, therefore is it still important to use your best judgment at all times.

2. Content Source

Obviously record labels and movie studios have a right to provide their own content. If content is available through their own website, it is most likely legal. However, most media is provided through third parties. Through online stores, streaming “radio” or “channels”, third-party sources for media content may provide some assurance that they are in partnership with the owner(s) of the copyrighted material, and/or compliant with the DMCA regulations.

The trouble with many peer-to-peer networks is that it is the network of users who provide the content and there is no management method to insure, restrict, or control the legality of the content available on these networks. Therefore we cannot recommend these clients as a way to get your media.

Another system of media distribution specifically designed allow people to "share, remix, and reuse legally" is the Creative Commons licensing infrastructure. Under this system, content authors can designate how their work can be used. Click to see further details on the Creative Commons licenses or to Search for CC-licensed content.

3. The "About" Page

Checking a website’s "About" and “Terms and Conditions” pages should provide insight into where and how they get their content. Look for questionable or vague language or suspicious legal limitations and disclaimers. If their terms, conditions, or “About” page sounds questionable, you may want to look elsewhere for your media.

Example of non-questionable language: In this example, the company explicitly says where their content comes from and how they make their money: "[Website X]'s selection of premium programming is provided by more than 225 leading content companies, including FOX, NBC Universal, ABC, Lionsgate, MGM, National Geographic, Paramount, A&E Television Networks, PBS, and Warner Bros. Television Group... Website X is free and legal through an advertising supported model [and] acquires the rights to distribute its videos, making them available to users legally…"

Example of questionable language: In this example the website fails to mention where they get their content or how they can assure its legitimacy. In fact it explicitly indicates that they cannot assure that its content does not violate any copyright laws: "[Site XYZ] is an online portal which indexes online videos to watch online in an easier accessible manner. Site XYZ does not contain any content on its site, but is merely an index of available links on the Internet... If a video is violating copyright and you want us to remove that videos/content or have any Questions/Suggestions/Problems send us email at: [Site XYZ]..."

When reviewing, you should also consider the context: For example, you would not expect a search engine to claim ownership of the content that is available on its website or attribute to all the places they are getting their results from. However, as a provider of content, you would not expect a company to make a point of explicitly stating they don't have any direct connection with the content.

4. Reputation and Reviews

Many of the major sources for legal content are well-known as legal sites. Of course, many of the major sources for illegal content are just as well-known as illegal. Each may have a large user base as well as inventory. But, how do you evaluate the thousands of lesser known sites? We encourage you to check the reputation and/or reviews of sites you do not already know to be legitimate. The quickest way to do this is simply by looking that website up in a search engine.

Still unsure? Ask a friend. Better yet, ask several friends. If they say a site is legitimate, ask them how do they know? If you’re really curious, you can do a “whois” query on the domain name to find out who “owns” the website, then look up the company or individuals in a search engine or LinkedIn.com and see what you come up with!

At the end of the day, if you can’t tell with just a little research whether a content provider is legitimate, it should be simple enough to just move on to another source.

5. Instinct

This is an unquantifiable, but often highly effective method. If a site gives off a bad vibe, it is better to stay away from it. Unfortunately, in our research we find that a conscientious user cannot make this assertion merely by the “quality” of the website. In fact, we found a number of legal sources with websites that looked questionable, and conversely, many professional-looking websites could not be proven to be legitimate.

For these reasons we recommend users stick to "known" sources. The shortlist at the moment is iTunes, Amazon, Pandora, and Hulu. For more legal sources of online content, visit http://www.educause.edu/legalcontent and http://www.mpaa.org/contentprotection/get-movies-tv-shows

Streaming vs. Downloading

Q. What is the technical difference between "streaming" and "downloading" content?

A. How Stuff Works reports that "In streaming video and audio, the traveling information is a stream of data from a server. The decoder is a stand-alone player or a plugin that works as part of a Web browser. The server, information stream and decoder work together to let people watch live or prerecorded broadcasts." 

In other words, once a connection is established with the server, the "player" on a user's computer will continue to decode and play the file as it downloads, without having to wait for the download to finish. In this format no data is permanently stored on your computer.

When you download content, you are making a duplicate copy of the original file and storing it onto your computer. While the original is still available online, there are now two copies of that file. In this format the end user is now in physical possession of that content.

Q. What is the legal difference between "streaming" and "downloading" content?

A. The legality of downloading versus streaming is a matter of continuous debate. However, it is clear that just because content is streamed does not make it legal. Just because content is downloaded and shared from a tool like BitTorrent does not make it illegal. It is still necessary to apply good judgment in evaluating the source of this media and whether it is legal to stream or download from a particular source.