Copyrighted music, consecutive notes, and lyrics are all covered under the blanket of copyright protection. Once you've registered your copyright you have legal recourse should someone steal or “borrow” any part of your music without permission. Many websites which publish lyrics to your favorite song are actually infringing on the copyright of the author and the recording artist. It is not legal to use any part of the song that isn't covered by Fair Use without the express permission of the holder of the copyright. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between Fair Use and copyright infringement. Copyrighted music pays musicians royalties, while Fair Use will not take those future payments from the authors for the sake of personal entertainment.

Fair Use was once thought to mean that if you weren't making money from the copy or use of materials then it was allowable. This is one of the arguments that was used when defending massive file sharing servers; the defense, however, falls flat of the law. It is illegal to share copyright music, consecutive notes, lyrics, tabs, chords, or any other part of the music. The only case in which copying of music is clearly allowable is when used for non-profit education and educational research, for the purpose of criticism, commentary, and news reporting. According to copyright law, ripping your CDs is an infringement of copyright.

The result of massive file sharing has prompted new laws to address the problem and provide a clearer definition of what is not allowable. According to recent amendments, you must have the express permission of the performer to fix the sounds or images into any type of phonorecord, to transmit these sounds to others, or to offer to distribute, sell, or rent any of the copyrighted material. That about sums up file sharing in a nutshell and clearly establishes the practice as illegal.

Many musicians and artists copyright music, lyrics, and performances to protect those things from abuse, misuse, and to protect their interests. While some may be artists who perform for the sake of the art, most of them are not independently wealthy and need the income that results from the sales of their music. Many have families to feed as well as fabulous lifestyles. Regardless of their inherent needs for the funds, they've provided a service (entertainment) that we place a certain value on and they deserve to get paid for the services they provide.