The nine MSU students who face punishment from the Recording Industry Association of America are not alone.
Activist groups, fellow students and artists stand by the file sharers.
One such group, the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation, is no stranger to the struggle between file sharers and the RIAA. The nonprofit group made up of lawyers, volunteers, and visionaries works to protect the digital rights of all people.
The EFF recently won a case in Los Angeles in which they represented the people who make the Morpheus software - one of many systems which allows people to download and share music online.
EFF regularly advises and represents people who are presented with lawsuits because of file sharing, Fred von Lohmann, the group's senior staff attorney said.
"We've probably talked to 100 individuals who've been sued and tried to find them lawyers and help them understand what's going on," von Lohmann said.
"We've also been doing a lot of advising to universities and people on how to respond to this whole lawsuit campaign."
Concerning MSU's situation, von Lohmann said it was unfortunate for the nine students who were caught.
"At most campuses, you have the majority of the student body who's doing this, and yet only a handful of people get singled out for these lawsuits. It's sort of unfair if you think about it."
An MSU marketing junior, who asked not to be named, admitted she shared between 300-400 music files online through Kazaa and Soulseek because CD prices are too high.
"I think (the record companies) should be happy we're listening to their music," she said. "They're already rich, they don't need the $20 from a CD."
Another MSU student who didn't want to be named, an inter-disciplinary studies senior, said he occasionally downloads music through Kazaa, but does not file share because of the punishment he hears about other students facing.
"It's definitely a wake up call," he said. "But I don't think it's a crime."
Some musicians say they don't care that students are sharing their songs, including Brian Vander Ark, solo artist and lead singer of The Verve Pipe.
"I think that it perpetuates careers," Vander Ark said as The Verve Pipe was preparing to perform at the Air Force Academy in Colorado.
"Especially for young bands, I say encourage it. The most important thing is to get the music out there, but to let your fans know, 'look, if you're a fan of our music, and you want to fileshare, great, go ahead, pass on the music, but come support the live show.'"
Vander Ark said most bands make their money from radio airplay and it's really the record companies who are hurt by file sharing, claiming that The Verve Pipe, "didn't make very much money from record sales."
Vander Ark said he was glad that The Verve Pipe's 1997 hit single "The Freshman" is downloaded and shared often online and isn't upset about losing royalties.
"I'm really quite impressed by that, it's more flattering than anything."
The former East Lansing resident thought it was "absolutely ridiculous" for the RIAA to file lawsuits against students.
"They need to bring national attention to this and say look, stop doing this, but there are so many gray areas," Vander Ark said.
"I think once the laws and rules become much more straightforward and understandable - then I think you're going to have less of a problem, but I don't think it's going to stop people from sharing music."
RIAA President Cary Sherman said in a report the RIAA is working with universities to fix the file share problem, calling it one of their top priorities.
"Consumers, including college students, have access to a wide variety of legal music services that offer high-quality music online," Sherman said in the report.
"Illegally downloading music from the Internet costs everyone: The musicians not getting compensated for their craft, the owners and employees of the thousands of record stores that have been forced to close, legitimate online music services building their businesses, and consumers who play by the rules and purchase their music legally."
