> My point is backed up by an article in Christian Science Monitor this
> week. They interview college kids who are proud that they haven't
> bought a cd in four years because of the ease of PTP downloads.
>
> You are probably right that some people who do illegal downloads do
> go back and purchase cds. But how would you feel if a kid came into
> your shop and stole the new Radiohead cd, but then came back next
> week and bought The Bends?

In my case, illegal downloads have caused me to buy many CDs that otherwise
I would never have considered - I use it very much as a try-before-you-buy
service. I download either sample tracks by bands I've never heard, to see
if they're worth buying (for example I downloaded some Minus 5 stuff before
going out and buying the CDs, and some tracks from the Nuggets box before
going out and buying that), music I can't legally obtain (either because
they're not available in the UK and I can't buy online because I have no
credit card, or because they're deleted, like the Difford & Tilbrook album
from 1985), or bootleg stuff (Beach Boys outtakes and so on).
My music spending has gone up hugely since I became able to download MP3s -
another example would be Love. I always assumed they'd only done the one
good album, Forever Changes. Downloading tracks disabused me of that, and
I've since bought every CD currently available (some more than once, because
I became a huge fan *just* before the reissues with bonus tracks came out)
and seen Arthur Lee live three times, which would never have happened
without Napster, which is what I used then.
That's not to say it's morally 'roght' to download music without paying, but
nor is it always (IMO) morally 'wrong' - and it may lead to the artists
getting a lot more *paying* listeners...

-- 
http://stealthmunchkin.com
Stealth Munchkin play the Cavern, Liverpool , Wednesday 15th October
As part of International Pop Overthrow.