Is It Bad To Download Free Music?

[bcnu]

Your brother is wrong, at least under current US copyright laws.

Downloading a copy of something that was not authorized for distribution is obviously an illegal reproduction of the illegal upload and thus also a copyright infringement. Think of it as "receiving stolen goods"; does the fact that you didn't originally take it from the owner make your possession of stolen goods somehow legal? No, not at all. Whether it's economically feasible for copyright owners to sue every illegal downloader really isn't the point, just like the police cannot possibly stop every traffic speeder.

You don't generally "go to jail" for copyright infringement unless you do it for profit or do it to deprive the copyright owners of over $1,000 worth of income by your willful infringement. 18 USC 2319.