[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1381413495' post='2238714']
Motivations are irrelevant to the issue of whether the artist is losing anything. There could be a million reasons why someone might copy music instead of paying for it (more likely a different reason why millions of people copy music) but none of them make any difference.
The point is that copying music doesn't mean the artist loses anything.
I would suggest that, historically, music sales may have been higher because people would buy music they didn't feel great about because there was no alternative.
I'd bet we all have records we've bought, played once and never played again. Well once upon a time that would have been a sale. These days we still listen to loads of music once, but we do it through spotify or youtube and if we don't like it we move on. Yet we still buy the stuff we really like.
What has an independent, self-funded release got to do with anything? All that matters is whether people like the music or not.
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You were the one who brought up the music industry in the first place, hence my offering of an example outside of that. But whatever, I think you're wrong, I'm entitled to think you're wrong, and you are entitled to feel the same towards me.