Most every book is available at the public library. Seems like enough people still buy books to make it worth while publishing them. You can record music offum the FM radio until you run out of space to store the tapes...I know!...and people still buy tapes and CDs.

My son the Phishhead mentioned once that Phish have relatively light CD sales, and essentially got rich off their concert ticket sales. They've always, not only permitted, but actively encouraged, taping of their live shows; and swapping of these concert tapes is a major activity amongst their fans. But I don't think their recent hiatus in touring as a group was because they weren't making any money. More the other extreme.

Part of it depends on how much you feel you need a monopoly in order to make as much money as you want. If you have a product that people think is the best, you don't need to fear competition unless you've got it way overpriced.

Most of the CDs I buy, are ones I've already heard. Most often I have a bootlegged tape (not bootlegged by me, of course - these things just appear somehow - and want a cleaner version of the songs. Or I'm at a festival and hear a performer do a new song, and say "I gotta have that song!" and run to the performer's sales table (actually that's how we sell most of our CDs and tapes, come to think of it). The only CD sales that are lost because I acquired the tape from somewhere are records I heard once or twice and decided I didn't like.

I say an open market would encourage creativity. It would only harm music as big business. And who on here is bothered by that?

Peter.