The only reason I could see that you would be safer downloading than uploading would be that if you download one song, you're IP is exposed for a shorter time than if you spend a lot of time sharing a song. I think what people are talking about when they refer to being safer downloading than uploading is that in certain countries (like Canada, for example) it is legal to download music for private use only, but illegal to download and share it with people around you, or to share it over the internet. Some countries, like the US prohobit both uploading and downloading. If you're Canadian, and you are downloading music for privtae use, you (right now) have nothing to worry about. There's a rumour going around though that there is going to be a bill passed that will soon illegalize downloading music even for private use.