Feds to audiophiles: You're all pirates now

I'm 100% with Opalchip. Theft is theft.
Copyright was "invented" to protect creative peoples efforts from being stolen. Remember too that things were always stolen to make money. People are stealing songs off the 'net today for only 1 reason----to make money--the money they keep in their pocket by not paying for the music. If this blatant theft and erosion of the value of creativity continues there will be a digital rights management system that will only allow a song to be played 'once' since people want to buy the cheapest thing they can. When are the young going to learn? Nothing is free and that's exactly what it's worth. Everything of value has a price-you either pay the price or you are a thief-it's a very simple true concept. Any other talk about it is--worth what you pay for it.

Theft at Christmas even to give a gift to a poor person== is still theft. Euck

Well said Jaybo,
I also found artists whose recordings I liked-from the "radio" -which paid artist for every play of their 'musical creation'
As a result I now own over 15000 lps, mostly rock, but thousands of classical & hundreds of jazz, and over 5000 rock single 45's---all of them "paid for".
To possibly think you doing an artist a favor(indicated in your email) by
1. downloading his art-without paying him for it, and then
2. distributing his art-again without you, or anyone else paying for it
is, I feel misguided for the following reason, among others.
Simply consider,
If people were downloading-for free- so they could go out and buy the album- then the record companies would be overwhelmed by demand, and artists would be making money from album sales.
Record(cd)sales would have started going through the roof with sales records being set with the advent of the internet.
The opposite of what has happened.
People download for instant or long term pleasure--as long as it's free.
I believe artists will come up with a way to allow download of songs very cheaply over the net,
in a compressed format,
with formidable copy protection making sharing impossible,
and 1 or few plays only.
If you like it you will have to buy it,in one or more formats or quality levels.
Let's put it this way. I don't work for free(unless it's for charity) and I don't know 'anyone' who does.

Well Dusty, I'm not sure we're on the same wavelength.
I don't think listening is the problem; it's the illegal downloading and sharing-which bypasses the creator of the art-that's the problem.
The fundamental issue is no different now than it was in the past;something "must" be done to protect personal property and identify thieves-that's why livestock is branded and we put locks on our doors.
Your point is interesting though. If the information has or continues to be "freed" from the medium--then artists will have to demand and enforce a change to the medium ; or; the artists will have to demand & enforce changes by which the medium is accessed. This will happen.
The world is a "pay as you play" place, I think that is something everyone out of their teens should be well aware of; we pay for movies,restaurents,gas,tune ups,"electricity",use of rec facilities,museums--why should music be different?
The only reason music is subject to such blatant theft is that society hasn't yet adapted to this new abuse of technology. Robbing a bank used to be easy as well; now we are robbing artists. Electrical theft has become rampant so new technology is developing quickly to counteract it.
I hope the same for our musical artists.

Dusty, really, what are 1s and 0's if they're not things?
Are you suggesting they are "nothing". This is getting deep.
Perhaps some Philosophists might have some input here.