I've noticed that a number of bands' websites are massively Flash-enabled, to the point where the entire site consists of an HTML wrapper with a large-scale, dynamically-loading Flash application. While the argument of whether or not this is an acceptable way to code a website is arguable, I'll save that argument for some other time. Something's made me wonder about such sites for quite awhile: almost all of these band sites allow a user to listen to a full-length track at no charge, using an MP3 player coded in Flash.
That's great and all, but obviously I don't want to have to go back to the site and navigate through a good lot of Flash menus just to listen to the track again. Obviously, Flash needs to cache its MP3s somewhere, and it turns out these caches can easily be found in your browser's cache folder. There's the original MP3 file, with no container modifications and no rights management.
Here's the problematic part. This MP3 file is already on my hard drive. Flash downloaded it for me, straight from the band's website. If I choose not to clear my cache when I exit, I can go load this MP3 into Windows Media Player, copy this MP3 into my music collection, and treat it as part of my music collection. So, the question is, am I or am I not legally allowed to take advantage of how this band is downloading free music straight to my computer?