Why do you think bands are touring more? Why is ok to rip of musicians? We don;t start stealing fuel/gas because oil companies have made 'more than enough'. I'm not saying you suggested this but this is a common argument.
I never said bands were touring more, what I said is that the most of their income (80% to 95%) comes from concerts and that the real income coming from their CDs is almost laughable.
Your point about gas companies is not logic, as there is already gas smuggling everywhere... Just as an example, I know the owner of a truck company who managed to spare some money by using heating fuel instead of diesel fuel to power his trucks, even though doing so is illegal. By the time the gouvernment caught him, he managed to put enough money "on the side" to buy a brand new truck
and pay the ticket the police gave him (something like $5,000, if I remember well).
Plus gas companies don't have a second source of income (i.e. concerts).
Also, I think it is okay to "rip off musicians" (as you put it) because of the following reasons (most of them were explained earlier in my other post).
1 - Sharing music (legally or not) doesn't mean that the downloader won't buy the CD, as most of them knows that if nobody are buying the CDs, then we'll all lose something. (The company will stop distributing their CDs, so the band will stop making music and we could lose so good artists.)
2 - Sharing music (legally or not) can make some unknown groups famous (either locally or worldwide). Which means more peoples going to their shows, so more money coming-in for them. Again, my example of Metallica still stands, as Lars Ulrich himself admitted that MP3 sharing of their songs contributed to make them famous in middle-east countries... As their group is illegal in many of those countries. (Source : the movie
Global Metal.)
3 - Many Canadian artists (even those who are famous) still receive financial help from gouvernement... Both Federal (a tiny part) and Provincial (for the most part) gouvernements are giving them money, so we are still paying for their music... Even for the musicians who royally sucks.
4 - I noticed that those musicians who complains are either extremely rich (i.e. Metallica) or extremely poor (a.k.a. : they sucks !). And if they sucks they should change of career.
So, is music sharing illegal ? Yes.
Should it be legal ? Yes.
Do I feel for those "poor" musicians ? Not at all. Make some good music or leave the place to better musicians.
But it is only my opinion... Feel free to agree with it or not.