But lets not forget, the record companies are diluting the market with pap from just about anyone off the street now (No disrespect to any decent artists - but when you look at Pop Idol, Pop Stars etc... you'll know what I mean), and they put records out deliberately aimed at making money. Nothing wrong with making money... but when you fill a market with rubbish, you shouldn't complain when you can't shift it.... The record buyers won't buy crap (although, looking at the UK charts in the last few years, it proves my own point wrong). I also read on the BBC news website that record companies are thinking about reducing the number of tracks on albums, because they say customers are fed up with 'fillers' rather than decent tracks. Another way to rip off the punter. Who decides if I like a track or not? So if I buy an album with only 8 tracks on it, I'll then have to buy all the singles and special editions to get the tracks they decided I wouldn't like. I don't deny the record companies are losing money - but in my opinion, it's not JUST down to illegal downloads. (I don't condone MP3 downloading, but I don't think it is entirely to blame). It's bad marketing, exploitation of teenage trends, exploitation of fans (Look at how many 'reissues' there have been shortly after the original albums have been released, all with 'bonus tracks', all designed to make you go out and buy it again... Sheryl Crow, Celine Dion, David Gray, Bjork, and they're just the ones that I've been caught out by... (Celine Dion was for my wife by the way). These marketers think of great ways to make more money "Ooh, lets repackage it as a tour edition", or "Hey, lets do a Greatest Hits album, and put ONE new track on there....", and when their ideas turn out to be not as good as they first thought.... it's the music buying (or not, in this case) public who are blamed. Job losses are also inevitable in a market where big record companies merge, just the same as any other industry. When you bring together two stables, you don't need the same amount of staff as two separate companies. Why would record companies merge, if it wasn't to save money by cutting costs? They sure wouldn't do it if they weren't going to make as much money. Record companies should put their hands up in the air and admit it when their marketing plans don't come to fruition, rather than blaming their customers for EVERYTHING. J.