The only justification I have for my rampant illegal downloading is the old "I try before I buy" argument. Before you roll your eyes though, please hear me out on this.
Downloading is an enormous help to me deciding what to buy. I could read review after review and maybe listen to the samples on youtube or myspace or whatever, but it's only through listening to the album all of the way through can I be sure I know what I am getting when I put my money down for an album. I know that I am not wasting money when I buy an album, and the money saved from not buying duffers means more money I can put into the music I like, in the form of CDs, gig tickets and t-shirts. Some people like the building of anticipation, the feeling of buying the CD/record/whatever, taking it home, unwrapping the cellophane and feeling excited about what they will hear for the first time. I prefer the feeling that I know I have not wasted my money. A lot of people I speak to feel similarly. Thanks to their downloading, they spend
more money on music than they did before they started downloading, as they don't need to be cautious about what they buy.
After reading through the posts here so far, I had a quick look through the list of orders I placed through Amazon and worked out that in 2010 on that site alone I spent £323.26 on music. Money I have spent on other websites and merch stalls adds a little to the total, taking it to about £350-£360. I must have spent at least £400-£500 on gig tickets (though I am counting the festivals I went to). I haven't spent as much as I used to on t-shirts, probably about £70 on them. Last night I spent about £65 on CDs, all of which I downloaded and listened to first before making my decision.
I have little faith in the idea that the best artists always have the most success. People like to think that the best bands sell the most, and then proceed to slag off Bon Jovi, U2, Coldplay, and many other artists who are selling out stadiums. The usual (pre-downloading) model seems strange to me. Whenever I hear figures about how many albums were sold by an artist, I start thinking that most, if not all of these people probably have not heard the album beyond what's played on the radio. The sad fact is that people so often buy music because they have been manipulated into thinking it is worth buying by the marketing machine, rather than because it is any good (which is pretty much the story of consumerism). It doesn't seem right to me that people will buy something not because it's the best, but because it has been the best promoted.
It's not something I can apply to everything I do in life, of course. Most things don't allow me to "try before I buy", and for various reasons I wouldn't expect them to, but at least one of my passions in life allows me that privilege. I think it makes a difference that I am not taking a physical item, rather I'm making a copy of it instead.
The inevitable problem is those people who just want something for nothing. At this point I feel like I'm in a debate about gun ownership. Sure there are people who use it responsibly, but we have to deal with those who basically can't and/or won't. And believe me, these people piss me off as much as they piss off those who are fully against illegal downloading.
One question for all those opposed to piracy is, how do you feel about buying music second-hand? After all, none of the money paid for it goes to either the artist or the record company.
Also:
fraserwatt1990 said:
(although as a side note, a power metal christmas single in the style of Do They Know It's Christmas Time with loads of different musicians would be awesome!)
And BTW, ever wondered who has committed the most piracy? Not filesharers, but major record labels:
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=20632
http://www.dailytech.com/UK+Manager...+More+Music+Than+Filesharers/article16446.htm
). 
