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The old maxim that "you can't compete with free" has been thrown around time and time again in the piracy argument. Sometimes, though, piracy is not just about price. People don't want DRM ( including Bill Gates ), and there are still no legal means to download DRM-free music. ( Ok, I should clarify - eMusic offers DRM-free downloads and is apparently now the second largest online retailer of music - but it doesn't include most mainstream music or most (any?) of the "major" labels.) People also don't want to wait for arbitrary release dates, and retail versions of albums are quite often available on the Internet well before the release. For example, Fred Wilson has an advance copy of the new Arcade Fire album many of us are anxiously awaiting. (That's one thing I definitely miss from my WHCL days). The album doesn't come out until March 6th, but it's already available for download on the filesharing networks. Thing about the choice that the record industry gave the rest of us - download...
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