I had a habit of copying CDs in order to keep the copy in the car, for personal use. I had the 'master' CD at home. I had the copy in the car, and I could only listen to one at a time. I still have the masters and the copies but now I don't listen to either of them, I listen to mp3s I made from the masters and put on my wearable music player.

I believe that I'm on the legal up-and-up so long as I maintain the master and any personal copies I made. But have I checked the actual laws? And would I understand the legalese if I did?


Meanwhile, I still have cassettes that I made by recording off the air. Used 'em a lot, like many folks I know. Was that legal? I never thought about it. And what about cases where I later bought the album I'd initially recorded from the radio? Did I go from an 'illegal' state to a legal one?


Inquiring minds want to know (unless they are bored stiff).