Here's a few thoughts:
If musicians are feeling hard done by, why don't they make available their out-of-print stuff themselves and charge for it on their web pages?
The reason a lot of L/Ps are hard to get is because only a small number were pressed, in some cases about 500 ,to be sold at gigs. The musician is paid for having sold 500. end of story. Why should he be paid if I want to make a copy for a friend, and in so doing possibly add to his fanclub?
Ian Anderson moans that an album he would rather forget, that he rushed just for contractual reasons, has become available. do you not think , Ian, that you cheated all those who bought it?
Buying on e-Bay is buying second-hand, often at rediculous prices. As such, the artist gets nothing from it.
If a person has the right to sell a second-hand L/P for £40 or £60, doese he not also have the right to give it away for nothing?
Finally, do these download sites not regenerate an interest in old gems being re-issued that otherwise would be forgotton?