Actually, no they weren’t and hence my response. Nowhere in my post did I say that I downloaded entire albums or ‘took from everyone’ on the words of the few. Indeed, as you so rightly pointed out, that would be like walking into a store and taking a copy of the shelf, something which I would never do. But I feel your selective quoting failed to take into account the rest of my post.
You didn’t seem to notice that I stated that I more often than not (and I would estimate this is 98% of the time) pick up the CD later when I have money. This is usually only a week or two later. I really don’t see how anyone loses out here.
As for the songs which I don’t end up buying, those would be rare recordings and B sides which actually can’t be bought online and for most fans this is the typical and accepted way of finding such tracks. If I could find these in a store near me, I would be both surprised and overjoyed. What an asset to my collection! Unfortunately, this is rarely if not never possible for me.
Finally, common sense comes into play here. Bands themselves are beginning to exploit this medium of file sharing. Certain songs or indeed entire albums are ‘leaked’ onto the internet as a surefire way to drum up sales. The ‘try before you buy’ method I mentioned. True fans will always want to hold the physical CD in their hands along with the artwork that goes with it. Myself included.
