licensing revenue earned from music licensing for film, TV$,$ video games, broadcast, etc. has grown exponentially in the past $15$ years. This offers great opportunities for songwriters to have their songs used in a variety of ways with potential income for their creative efforts. However, people post songs on Youtube all the time without the permission of the writer or copyright owner, who often don't receive any payment for the use of their intellectual property. Is this right or wrong, and why? Is a creative product copyright something that should be shared freely and openly without licensing, restrictions, or payment? What would be the long$-$term effect on society? Would people continue to create if they weren$$t compensated for it$?$ Should we$,$ as a society, protect intellectual property, whether it be a song, a piece of art, a play, a book, or any other creative effort? How would you suggest we do that?