Is it legal to share music in groups?

Question

if we share music in yahoo groups, are we violating copyright laws? this is not for profit, just pleasure.

Answer 1

Not sure what you mean by "share" music in the group.  Do you mean passing around a digital version of the music for anyone/everyone to save to their own computers and play?  If so, then the answer is yes, that is a violation of copyright laws.

Generally, music (the words and the melody) is subject to copyright laws.  The right to copy has nothing to do with the intended purpose, and unless you have permission from the copyright holder (not always the person who wrote the song) you cannot legally make a copy of the work or give a copy of what you paid for to someone else.  The theory is that when you buy it you are being given permission to play it...not give a copy to someone else.  There are some limited exceptions to this but I don't sense that would apply to this question.  The music is the property of the copyright holder and copying (sharing) a copy of the music is a violation of the law.

Answer 2

pretty sure music file sharing is against the law and I certainly wouldn't do it through a Yahoo Group.