How is it stealing when you aren't depriving them of anything?
Actually, you are depriving them of the full benefits of their labor.
The problem here is that we now have a large increase in the number of goods that have the characteristics of a
public good.
MANY people can use electronic files at the same time without depriving anyone else of their use. A record would not allow that to the same extent- I could listen to your record with you, but the use of that good was limited by the radius of the sound.
Today, I can copy the files and MILLIONS of individuals can use the same file without consequence to others: this is non-rivalrous consumption.
The issue at hand is excludability. RIAA and other such organizations are doing all they can to be able to exclude people from using these digital files. (Making them pay first).
The technology of the internet is moving such files towards non-excludability.
We are currently in the fight between an old business model dealing with new technology. How they will deal with the fact that their product is becoming a public good is an interesting economic study.
Personally, I think we will move towards online music being advertising for artists performances: artists may even begin paying for their work to be posted on certain sites.
Please note, I believe artists deserve compensation for their work. I also believe downloading music is wrong (currently). I also think technology has progressed to the point that organizations such as RIAA are much like the newspapers: grasping onto a failed business model.
