I hear so many people using ideas in their music that aren't necessarily theirs. Same lines, same grooves...
...How is that theft?
or are you talking about 'music piracy'?
You're in Tennesee and I'm in Canada so there's a huge difference in the culture of copyright just based on our experiences with living in 2 different countries that treat the subject differently.
Up here it's perfectly fine to make copies as long as you're not making money from reproducing the music and distributing it.
To buy every bit of music one would want to have would simply be impossible for most people. I could think of about 200 albums I want to have on my computer and another 100 that I want on vinyl.
The way things are going, people still like to buy hard copies of the music that means most to them. With so many artists making product, not everything resonates with people fully.
Another important aspect of this is Concert tickets and Merchandaise. Most artists make a huge chunk of their income from playing live and from selling t-shirts. In addition to that, licensing the rights to use of an artist's music is becoming a bigger and bigger way to make music for artists.
So the 'album' (EP, single, LP, presentable package) is really just a business card to gain as many interested listeners to an artist as possible.
Say i made an album...a clean record with a power trio, a couple of overdubs. Spend the time and some of the money on Preproduction (get it down tight, tour the set (pay for gas and a bit of promo), get some good vibes) and then track it in a great sounding room and have it mixed/produced/mastered to budget I could spend a humble ten Grand on a great sounding record...most likely a 45 minute album or a 7 song EP...
That recording could either be pressed and sold as merch and as my sole income from reproduced works would drive me to become upset when thinking I was being ripped off by filesharing...
...Or I could sell the album but share it electronically with my fans. Get some rapport with a fanbase and take donations for downloads...that I could, say, donate to charities or help fund my arts community somehow.
The more people that I could tie into downloads, and my website, the more people in my email list, the more people in the fanclub, my myspace page, facebook friends..the more clout I would have and proof of interest for licensicing music for video games, television, movies, corporate films, multimedia projects and productions for government based groups etc.
I could also use this to get a record deal.
So that $10K to make a clean album could then be further infused with high priced mixing and mastering (or an advance to cut another few tracks) and then rerelease the record, or pay us to tour and share profits for merch with a label interest.
How many ringtones could I sell?
How many pairs of panties would hot girls buy from the merch booth?
How many frisbees would fly around on the beach in my hometown with my band's logo on it.
I have a 'white cowbell oklahoma' cock rag. I use it to wipe off my golf discs.
I want to see them every time they come to town and tell people to see them. and I never paid for an album but they more than made their money back from my free copy of 'cincerro blanco'
So it will come down to how much money is being spread around the industry and how the various formulai work in their own context.
To make a hardline rule about it will keep you out in the cold.
Why not come in and set up a genius playlist in iTunes while I put on some coffee?
.r.