Mr greenjade@blueyonder.co.uk posted >>>.....never have heard half the stuff alex has done - he should get all the stuff he's recorded and sell it so we can have something of a reasonable quality to play........ ..........look how long it took to get cydonia onto the shelves !> This has kind of been covered before, but I am wondering once again on the future of the music business, and wondered what others thought? P2P downloading is obviously happening on a major scale, but I can't believe that anyone wants their favorite artist to starve or be forced to quit the music business. There has to be a happy medium. Talking with friends: downloading is extensive, but then most of them are buying more "legitimate" Cd's as a result. Purchasing more often tends to be from "2nd hand" sources though, (eg, no money to the musicians). Pay per track sites are springing up, but prices (apple charge about $1.00 track) seem high when compared to the actual CD price, especially when distribution, overhead and product costs are minimal. I personally though that the Badorb MP3 Download option, with the theory that money goes straight to the Artists, was a good idea. Although some on list thought it was shit! Why? If the price had been less, would it of made a difference? Also: there is alot of appeal with getting rid of the advertisers, distributes, general money siphoning middle men (especially some of the jerks in my local music store), but are some systems necessary just to keep everyone informed? Any ideas, anyone?