[gmku]

Not to get off track too much--but I've always viewed file sharing much like tape copies. Isn't it generally for people who are interested in hearing what something sounds like? Then if they like it well enough, they go out and buy a "real" copy on CD or LP?

I know for the few times I've gotten a CD-R of a download that it's never the same as having the "real" thing. I'm always on the lookout for an LP or at least a manufactured CD to replace it, because it seems more legitimate.

I know there are people who are satisfied with a "copy," but I would think they are a minority and that most consumers would see a shared file as a placeholder or as test copy to see if it's really something they're interested in. I also know I've grown up with more of a "collector's" mentality than most young people today seem to have.

There was that big to-do in the 70s about home taping and how it was killing the industry. In reality, it was boost, because it helped more people hear more music, which they would then go buy for themselves.