(wow, 6 posts by the time it took me to read through General and Off Topic alone). Good points all.

genixia: I came to the conclusion (read: lie I tell myself) a few years back that: When purchasing any entertainment, I am buying the artistic (taken liberally) process of creating that entertainment and I am NOT buying a physical object.

Basicaly, I'd rather be entertained by burning my money in a small pile in my living room then:
- pay $18 for a plastic disc that I can have produced for $0.90 (and I've researched this) which contains music.
- pay $30 for a slightly more complex plastic disc that costs $2.00 to produce which contains a movie.
- pay $50 for a video game that probably cost $5 to make (console and special form factors (ie: NES)).
- pay anywhere from $50 to $5000 for a plastic disc that could have, again, been produced for $0.90 which contains computer software.
- pay thousands of dollars for paint slapped on a canvas which just happens to be a work of art.
And this model can be extended to everything. Is your car really worth what you paid for it? No, there is a certain "artistic license" that went into creating that car which you are paying for. Did our empegs cost $1400 to make? No, we are paying for all the "artistic" creation of the empeg staff that went into the unit.

Honestly though, I understand your arguement and I'm only being extreme to point out a different way of looking at things. If I was paying for a physical product, I'd much rather listen to my music by going to live concerts. In those cases, the only physical thing I walk away with is half a paper ticket stub. How can the music industry's model fit THAT?

So, the process of creation, which I'll call "artistic license", must be what you are paying for. Otherwise, that crap AOL CD I got in the mail must have the same value as the rare German import Delerium album I had to pay $30 for.

Tony: But, in the end, you are probably right (though I didn't yet check your linked reference). Ya ain't entitled to a different format of what you already bought because it's different in so many ways. So, damn, guess I'd better delete the mp3 copy I downloaded of The Police's "Reggeta Da Blanc" because I bought the vinyl at a garage sale for $1 hoping to "own the license" for it. Hahaha. Oh shoot, and the mp3 copy of The Police's "Ghost in the Machine" which I have on tape only because a friend of mine left it at my house like... 10+ years ago.