I'm on the side of the artist but it's difficult to know what to do because as a font designer I can tell you I have seen my work all over the place, knowing that the font hasn't been paid for, and while I enjoy seeing my work on flyer/sites/videos I know there's very little I can do and life is too short to be bitter...
I agree and while I too am on the side of the artist it seems to me the people who have most to lose and hence kick up the biggest fuss are the *big* artists and the middle men. I think these types of people are overpaid anyway. While I think it's fair enough these people should be paid for tours, hard work etc. I do think CDs are far too expensive and too many rich people make too much money from them.
These days I seem to buy most of my records online and file sharing helps me a lot. I've lost count of the records I've heard mentioned or heard in a mix that I've later found on slsk and then ordered online. For me it beats going into a record store and saying have you got the one that goes 'dumm dumm dumm' :) Plus if like me there aren't many decent small record stores nearby then buying online is a necessity not an option.
From my personal experience, which I'm sure isn't unique, file sharing has made me spend *more* money on music than previously??
Sorry for draging this out. -- Mike
