I own 470+ CDs, plenty of records, etc. and have bought plenty direct from labels and bands, including ones in the scene I am part of as a recording artist myself (noise/experimental electronics). I also download a lot. Am I not supporting artists then? Additionally, as an extra courtesy to the bands and to my hard drive, I delete the mp3s of albums I bought after having heard them only in file form. I also don't rip CDs/don't listen to ripped copies of CDs, because I feel it hurts the experience. I like to thumb through the booklets of my favorite bands' albums and read who they gave shout outs to, etc...it helps me find more music to check out further. Maybe I'll download some of the stuff I see there. So fucking what? I would never have bothered with them in the first place if the music wasn't readily available for me to see if I even enjoy before I drop my hard-earned money on it. I guess here the Myspace argument (preview it on Myspace, don't d/l the entire thing) works but I just don't like to do that; I like to listen to things at my own pace, throw them on a playlist and cruise through the albuma few times to see if I'll like it. Maybe I won't buy it, maybe I'll just keep the files. Does this suddenly make me a bad person? Not at all. I own a shitload of music, I have supported and will continue to support hundreds of bands across the globe by buying their music, but I won't stop downloading as a means of supplementing my knowledge and experience with music. Fuck the elitist anti-download crowd. Rot in hell.