I would think that (unless music to you is just a hobby) you would like to be paid for your talents. The main way songwriters get paid is through royalties, both performance fees from other musicians and publishing.
There's an attitude in the world, that because hearing something doesn't seem to cost us anything, then music should be free in all its forms.
But when a commercial radio station plays a song, the writer gets paid through a portion of the revenue of the station's commercials. When a song is downloaded through Rhapsody or other service, a part of the fee goes to the songwriter. XM or Sirius subscription fees pay the royalties.
As a songwriter or performer, the owning of a copyright is a long-standing legal right. And those who wish to avoid payment of legal royalties are rightly considered to be pirates. If you had written a great song, you would want what you are entitled to, wouldn't you?
After a number of years (is it 28, renewable for another 28? I forget...) a song may go into "Public Domain" and can then be printed and performed royalty free. And there may be changes to these laws, prompted by descendants of the songwriters.
A better value than individual sheet music are the compilation books. And I don't think that downloadable sheet music (for a fee) is far off. But who knows?
Just watch out for the ASCAP and BMI police!
