It's always disappointing to read posts from those who basically try to excuse their theft by trying to point out that the 'artist' receives a small share of the profits... Might as well say that it's OK to steal cars, because the worker on the assembly line makes a pittance, too!

But, trust me on this one, if it were YOU making your 'pittance' from the record company, and people were stealing the music and you consequently didn't even get the pittance that you ARE supposed to get, how would you feel?

Look at all the multi-millionaires and even billionaires that have been made by artists that leveraged their success... I guess you ought to say you SHOULDN'T steal THEIR music, because they are profiting from it? Or, is the new self-justification in their case, they already have a lot of money, and don't deserve any more?

Every burglar, every Ponzi-scheme operator, every confidence trickster, every mugger has an excuse to make themselves feel better about stealing from you. And, so it appears, do those that think there is no harm in downloading for free something that costs a FORTUNE to make...

Try this out... next gig you go to, say there's a cover charge to get in, and you make that as your fee. You have worked long and hard to build up the clientele. Now, the club owner lets everyone in for free, and tells you you won't get paid tonight. Who do you go after? The club owner, for letting everyone in for free, the patrons themselves (if you can find them) or do you just stop playing for a living and do it for free from now on...?

That is what you are expecting from the recording and movie industries...