Ralphie - the Nic Jones albums available on emusic (and iTunes) are _Penguin Eggs_ and _Game Set Match_, so it must have been one of those that Zozimus was unimpressed by.

But the Celtic Music story is (I'm afraid) highly relevant here. A while back, not knowing the background, I bought a CD of _Ballads and songs_; I was disappointed in the quality of the packaging and the CD itself, but I thought that paying money for the CD rather than seeking out a download was the right thing to do. (The problem with the CD isn't the sound but compatibility - it won't play on older machines, presumably because it's actually a CD-R.)

Then I discovered that none of the money I'd paid would go to Nic, or indeed to anyone who'd had anything to do with making the record. Mr Bulmer has also re-released _Nic Jones_, but when I discovered a site offering downloads of that album I didn't hesitate. I really don't think that paying Celtic Music for a shonky CD-R is morally superior to downloading a bootleg, or copying a cassette (thanks to the Catter who lent me a NJ cassette 18 months ago, by the way!). In all of those cases I'm acquiring an album without paying royalties to the artist.