I think for the most part in reference to the people on this site this doesn't directly apply. But there is a generation of people who think that they don't have to pay for music. The process of making this music starts when the artist begins writing material for a new CD. They may get together with another writer and begin working on songs , write by themselves holed up at home,on the Tour bus or even in a hotel room.Then they select a top notch producer & engineer. Then they select as in Vinces' case the top players in the World. The Chad Cromwells,Michael Rhodes & David Hungates of the World. Then it comes time to record. You go to a top flight studio or better yet build a World Class studio in your home. This ALL costs money. You may record 20 songs but only choose to put 15 on your CD. You select the best of those 20 songs to make the final cut. You create something that lasts a lifetime. You can listen to it as many times as you want over & over again forever!The music will make you feel good,feel sad, happy & evoke numerous other emotions. The artists puts his heart & soul into his CD working on it until it's almost perfect. They go over & over each & every little nuance to achieve the best final results possible. Well then what gives someone or anyone the right to just download or steal this without paying for it? It makes the average honest person say to themselves "why should I have to pay $18 for this when everyone else is getting it for free?" Why does this happen? Who allows this to happen? I went to the gym & had them play a new CD. Then I said to the guy running the gym "you can get that at Best Buy for $8.99". His exact words were "I don't pay for music ever". That in itself is the whole problem. I said that's no different then me coming to your gym without paying membership fees. He was speechless. As it was pointed out to me by someone who earns their living in the music business a single was $0.99 40 years ago & it's still $0.99. It's the mentality of the guy running the gym & millions of others that is going to eventually bring an end to the music World as we know it.

That's a tough one Reggie. I like itunes. I think that is a very easy way to get the music you want and it doesn't cost too much, but you are still paying for it---and it's all done through the internet, so it's super easy. I thought those community music sharing sites were shut down, but I guess not.

I have been a hairdresser for 45 years and I sure resent those cut rate salons . I can totally relate to trying to save a buck but as a widow who has been sole support of myself for many years I have found that for the most part people are shoppers and when the "special" goes off they move down the street for the next one. Not a lot of loyalty in my business ( in the area I work in) .

Some look at the entertainment business as not being "real work" so they shouldn't get paid for their chosen profession . Some of the people who "walk in" for a haircut and are "in a hurry" and then because there is no product used they don't get why the cost is $20.00 .It seems to me that if we are not directly involved in a business then that business shouldn't charge what they charge . I had to replace a knob for the settings on the air conditioner in my car $18.50 including tax .Kinda blew my mind but I can not deal with carrying pliers to change from air to heat so I didn't have to spend my time running around trying to find it on my own so I paid for what I considered to be good service . To me everyone has a right to earn as good a living as they possibly can .

I have some music that was burned for me or sent in e-mails by my friends but as for myself I have never dowloaded from the Internet .I enjoy lots of different kinds of music but am very selective in what I spend money on but pay for my favorites I sure do .They have as much right to earn a living as I do .

So after running my mouth forever I must add I absolutely agree with Reggie's take on the whole topic .

I must totally agree artists must get paid for their work. Nothing in life is free you may think it but at the least it weakens you on the inside to "get over" Isn't it just like society today wanting something for nothing. I am all for technology but it has made our kind into different animals. Texing while driving or even on the phone while driving, not being able to hold a decent conversation person to person but will text in a second. Kids addicted to the computer getting fatter and lazier than ever before. I don't expect anything given to me is a gift, you steal your a thief don't hide behind technology. Off the pulpit for now. George

Like Anna, I WILL pay for music from my favorite artists to get the complete album. What I really like is when artists offer something "extra" with their albums, even if you have to go to a specific place to get the album. Like Walmart has a Deluxe Special edition of Scotty McCreery's new album for $14.88, but it comes with baseball cards, postcards and a 78 page booklet. Lady A if you got their CD at Target you could get a tshirt (I didn't get that one, though...I'll get a shirt when we go see them in Dec.). Martina is offering a special edition of her album exclusively at Target. And then there are the artists who offer coupons if you buy their album at a particular store (mainly Best Buy). Jake Owen, Hunter Hayes and someone else all offered coupons for Best Buy on release week, and for Hunter Hayes, the album cost $6. These special offers are a good way to get people to actually go and buy the album. I only heard one song by Hunter Hayes, but when I can get the cd for $6 release week, I'm going to get it rather than wait for more singles to be released then go buy the album.

As for songs costing 99 cents, which is the same price as in the 60s, if you think about it, when an album is on sale for $9, then there's an extra $4 off the price w/ coupon, that brings the album down to $6, which means that each song on the album is actually LESS than 99 cents. And considering how far technology has come since the 1960s, it costs a lot less to manufacture and produce a cd these days than in the 60s. Another thing is the fact that even though the consumer/fans are the 'end user' (the people who actually listen to the albums), when hard copy cds are sold, it's the store who sells the album who keeps the money for that sale...if they don't keep all of it, they keep most of it, because the stores buy the albums from the record companies, who then give the artists/producers/musicians the money they are owed from the sales of that album.

I'm not exactly sure how it works with Itunes, but my guess is that Itunes licenses the songs from the record companies to sell online, then for every song sold at Itunes, Itunes has to turn over a portion of the sale to the record company, who then pays the artist(s).

So, if you want to get technical, the only time the artist(s) make the most of their money directly from the consumers/fans is online or concert merchandise sales. Money made from retail sales of an album come from the # of albums sold to the stores (that's why you hear the term "shipped platinum" quite a bit...it means that retailers order over 1 million copies of an album...not that 1 million people actually have the album at home and are listening to it)

I too totally absolutely agree with Reggie and those of you who also agree.