Most copyright laws were put in place because of technology's effect. Now with technology, we can copy CDs in five minutes and plagiarize with the push of a button. Although I think copyright laws are too strict, I think they should all be followed. If copyright laws were not put in place, singers, actors, authors, or programmers could be losing their money.
In addition, artists, web designers, and video makers are affected by people who pirate, or steal, their work and claim it as their own with no credit given to the original creator. One good thing is that you can still use copyrighted materials for public use so that you can show your friends too. However, you cannot use copyrighted materials for public use if you charge a fee, unless you have complete permission from the owner. I am glad that I can show my friends songs, images, movies, etc. without worry of being charged with copyrighting.
I think that copyrighting is a serious crime, but should not be a crime in which if you steal ten songs, for example, you have to pay $1000 per song. That is my opinion on copyright laws.
Quite frankly people break copyright laws all the time and no one cares. For example if you rent a movie you aren't supposed to lend it to friends or have friends come to your house. The rental fee is based on a household.
That is why a bar pays a larger fee to have satellite or cable because more people will be sharing the copyrighted feed.
Just go buy the CD or buy the download and you won't have a problem. Many people rely on purchases for their income. The songwriter, the record label, the artist, the musician, the distributor, the publisher, the retail outlet.
May be insignificant to you but they have bills too. Where do you work?
What if you worked at McDonalds and you got a few cents off of each burger. How many would you want to share for free?