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When I produced the Simpleflower album, I put tracks out for free. But that was my choice and supported by the rest of the band.
What things in life do you get to "try before you buy"? That's what radio is for or your friends. While you can argue that digital networks have created a huge group of "friends", the original business models were not made with that in mind. Certainly things need to change and iTunes has gotten a fair amount right. But evidently a significant people would rather steal content rather than paying for it. I will bet money that people are downloading content from sharing sites that is available for a reasonable price at iTunes.
Free usually wins, especially when people don't fear repercussions. I think it is a combination of lack of knowledge (evidently some people think that downloading doesn't hurt anyone) and just moral relativism. People would be pretty pissed off if someone walked into their house and took some of their stuff, but it is ok to download "free" music because it either is just hurting "the man" or there isn't a "fair" model.
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