But I wonder if anyone else has had the same problem as me. I have been a fan of 'folk music' for over 30 years and have legally aquired cassettes, lps, cds and mp3s. I have also downloaded music from blogs and artists sites. Most of the albums I have downloaded have been in my 'legal' collection at some time but been lost, stolen or destroyed over time and the downloads are simply to replace them. Is this acceptable practise?
As for illegal copying of music I do remember my friend Dave Bradley of Swan Arcade (such a great fun guy, god rest his soul) giving me a tape of 2 Ry Cooder lps that neither of us had actually purchased. I reckon that nearly everyone in the music biz, perhaps with the exception of Sir Cliff, will have carried out such 'illegal' activity. I think this is how people learn new songs and appreciate other artists and maybe buy their music or book them for gigs etc. I think that downloads are just the modern way of doing things.

Anyway my problem is that I have ordered cds from a band website (Childe Rolande, paid though PayPal and am still sitting waiting for any response from them. (My first introduction to this band was through an illegal download from a friend, I liked the music and purchased 3 other albums!)

No wonder people download music!!