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May 23, 2008 from WNYC - Today's music fans are having a harder time than ever telling right from wrong.

Digital downloads and file-sharing websites have blurred the lines of what is OK and not-OK in acquiring music. Is getting music for free always wrong? How about burning a CD to give to a friend?

Randy Cohen writes "The Ethicist" column for The New York Times Magazine and is the author of The Good, the Bad and the Difference: How to Tell Right from Wrong in Everyday Situations. He spoke with host John Schaefer about the ethics of digital music, and fielded calls and comments from Soundcheck listeners.

The ethics of digital music ownership are certainly not black and white, according to Cohen.

"It seems to me one principle is: People are entitled to be paid for their work — an honorable tradition," he says. "The other thing is we want to disseminate [music] as widely as possible. And sometimes these two things clash — these two honorable goals."

Cohen spoke at length about the ethical issues associated with illegal music downloads, now widely available online.

"It's wrong," Cohen says. "But what's the interesting question is how do you respond to it?"