“Right now the industry is completely dominated by the labels and whatever they want to do,” Silverman said. “They’ve been neglecting the fans, which is part of the reason they’re losing money. (HumanFankind) is the first system in place that puts the fans more in charge.”

HumanFankind does not force its users to stop downloading music illegally, but rather it provides them with the opportunity to give something back to the artists.

If users like an album by a certain artist but do not want to go out and actually buy it, they can use HumanFankind to donate any amount of money they desire to the musician.

“We acknowledge that people do steal music, but some of these people do want a way to give back,” he said. “We give them an alternative of saying what they think it’s worth.”

According to Sandy Brasington, who handles file sharing complaints at MSU, there are plenty of students at the university who illegally download music and other types of media.

Brasington said in 2011, MSU received about 5,000 complaints from companies regarding illegal file sharing within the university’s network.

“(Piracy) is a problem,” she said. “The students at this university and at others tend to download a lot of illegal content.”

Brasington said many students understand pirating media is against the law, but that doesn’t stop them from doing it.

“The music and the movies are free, and they don’t see anything wrong with (illegally downloading them),” she said.

Silverman said some of his favorite artists, such as Coldplay, are victims of illegal downloading with many of the downloaders contributing nothing to them though being avid listeners.

“There were many artists that I listened to on the radio, and I love their music, and I would consider myself a huge fan,” Silverman said.

He said he wanted to give back to these musicians and figured he couldn’t be the only person looking for a way to do the same.

“I realized that there’s millions of people that love artists that never once helped them in any way,” he said. “I’m sure there are people who would like to give back, but there’s no current way to do it.”

Political science and pre-law sophomore Elaina Valtierra said although she does not download music illegally for fear of being caught and fined, she said she does not feel as if it hurts the artists.

“They’re getting exposure either way because the more their music is circulated, the more people will support them and go to concerts,” she said.

Valtierra said she would consider using HumanFankind because even though she is OK with music piracy, she still believes it is important to contribute to her favorite musicians.

“I think it’s important to give back to artists,” she said. “If you’re really passionate about them, you have to support them.”