AJ,
I'm not judging anyone here, and I too, am guilty of copying many things - including video tapes and CD's. The fact remains that I know it's wrong to willfully take something that is NOT mine. Being nieve is one thing - turning your back on the truth is another. Now that you are aware that copywrites carry some legal weight, it's no longer a case of aggree or disaggree - it's a simple case of right and wrong...... but lets let this die here. We all know how we are going to handle our own situations, so we'll just get on with it in our own way.

As far as the collection and distribution of fees - it is far from a perfect system, but it tries to compensate the artists that are most often on the charts, and based on sales of recorded media as well. Club owners pay a fee based on the ammount of seats and the time open during entertainment. A few years back, there was talk of making DJ's pay their own royalties, but nothing ever materialized. At least in the state of Pennsylvania - the publishers have an iron fist on the entertainment business, and they can close a room down for not paying the fees. Original venues don't have to pay, but even a radio or TV in a place of business requires a liscense fee to the publishers. That's why MUZAK was invented (elavator music)- it was "royalty free music" that you bought by the month as a service to enhance your business. It was cheaper than paying the full fare for having a broadcast program on. Believe me AJ, NOTHING is free. Nothing.