When it was LPs and cassette tapes, I used to 'borrow' tapes of albums from a couple friends, as I flatly couldn't afford to buy everything I saw that I 'might' like...then, when I had the chance, I'd part with the cash for the full albums I cared about and record over the others. Sometimes all I wanted was a tune so I could learn a song, and most of what I wanted was old 'trad' songs, anyway.

It is a slightly different issue for song WRITERS...especially if they are producing & marketing their own CDs.

I don't know the answer, partially there are several answers...as Jim Lad and Wordy are showing us. In today's world, every artist can have their own notion of what counts and what is acceptable in distribution & profit. When an artist almost depended on a company to decide they were worth promoting and shouldered a lot of the costs, it was different.

Now, costs to make a CD are lower, so folks who would NEVER have had a compilation available can be heard...but their needs are different than those trying to make most of their living from music.....That's why this bit of RIAA..etc..setting out to 'collect' royalties for any song played is just ridiculous.

It is also a losing battle....the technology exists to make almost song, video..etc...fairly easy to get. It's like porn...once, it was possible to keep major amounts from being widely available, but with digital technology cheap, there's no way to stop it.

I predict that in the next 10-15 years, there will be an entirely new concept in marketing for musicians.

There are SO many different issues than just stalwartly 'declaring' that this is ok, but THAT is piracy, based on rigid rules.