More music fans than ever are looking to download music online.

However, many people become overwhelmed by their downloading choices - and are unsure which music solution will best fit their needs and desires. And here's a more serious concern...

When searching for free music to download, you can get confusing and conflicting information about the legalities involved. It's true. Many people have unanswered questions about p2p file sharing networks, and the risk of being targeted (and possibly sued) by the Recording Industry Association of America someday.

But even with the threat of RIAA lawsuit risks, more people than ever are using p2p programs than ever before. Why?

The answer for the continued popularity of p2p networks, despite the controversy surrounding file sharing, can be found in a revealing online music survey. The Pew Internet survey (conducted in October 2003) found that more than two-thirds of Internet users who download music online say that they do not care if it is copyrighted.

According to the survey, those looking to download music online cited many reasons for their ambivalence towards copyright issues, including:

- They feel that CD prices are too high.
- Too little profit goes to artists.
- It's a way to sample new music BEFORE buying the CD.
- The music may not be available offline, such as indie music.
- They feel they are entitled to "fair use" of the music they've purchased.

Although these survey results are bad news for the RIAA, lawsuit risks remains very real if copy-righted music is downloaded or shared illegally online.

And even though it's true that the RIAA has lost court cases in the past against Morpheus and Grokster, this has only caused the recording industry to shift their tactics to targeting individual file sharers instead. Furthermore, it's no secret that the RIAA will continue their current campaign of suing those who are illegally sharing copy-righted material.

So how do you download music online - the right way? Here are some useful tips:

1) Do your research. Take the time to compare all of the online music download options available for you to choose from.

2) Get the facts. Learn about the critical differences between the legal music sites VS the file sharing networks.

3) Stay legal. You should NEVER reproduce, distribute or publicly share copyrighted material online.

4) Choose a legal site. In using a legal music service (such as Napster, iTunes, Musicmatch On Demand or eMusic) you'll get 100% legal, worry-free music downloads.

Also when researching any online music site, if you can't get your questions and concerns answered from the website itself, be sure to email them directly to try to get the answers you're looking for. If you fail to get a response, or feel the reply was inadequate, that is probably a sign that it's time to move on to another online music download site.