Wow this thread has been going for ages. I haven't read it all but I have to say I'm still with Big Mick; stealing is stealing.

Big music companies may eventually die, and I'm sure they are ruthless and everything that goes with it, but I don't think this gives us the right to steal something that isn't ours.

If I think drinking in the local boozer is too expensive I don't order the pint. I don't drink it and then say I'm not going to pay for it. You can say its different, but it isn't. Copyright law is just as valid as any other form of ownership.

The best modern day example is probably Tesco's, 12.5% of the TOTAL UK high street market, and I'm sure they are as cutthroat as any music company. But because all of their products are tangible and you can hold them in your hand, I bet nobody here would admit to walking out of a store without paying for any of it, even if the suppliers of the products have been screwed over along the way.

By the way, I think this is what Gillian Welch's song 'Everything is Free' is about.