it costs monetarily to produce, it costs experience (time = money) to create or write.

Do or have I downloaded, yeah. I think most or many people from my generation have at some point like scorpion said have in one way or another consumed pirated media.

but there's something to be said for the feeling of paying for something. ya know? that sense of anticipation for an album coming out, the community of waiting at the store for the album or even hearing about other works at the record store. now even though the concept of 'community' exists online, often times these communities are so narrow in focus that there's a real diversity lacking in them to the point that they don't thrive.

i almost miss the feeling of buying an album that was wack and then telling all of your friends about it. just the emotion tied to it was nice. now, it's just 'Move to Recycle Bin'...does a bit make a sound....??? even if i do get an album that's no good, i don't have the same feeling about it. i think that's because the act of buying the music is a commitment to the artist to their message, their craft, their music.

as music has become kinda 'bleh', i think we the audience has felt the same way about music too. it's expected that artists be geniuses who have orgies after concerts and do it for free...sounds a little outlandish don't you think? i would just settle for people who do a good job because they have talent want compensation.

i mean pretty soon we'll be asking musicians to play without fans.

</rant>

* edit * i think music in the end requires an investment, on the musicians part, to invest in the taste of the audience, and on the audiences part to give their money but also their feedback about what works.

scorpion hit on something when they mentioned that the audience / industry relationship is on some hospice / nursing home sh!t now. they just force feed you what they THINK you want to hear rather than presenting or crafting what it is you want to hear.