why isn't it stealing?

Please tell me why, if someone copies and keeps one of our releases, thereby depriving me of the sale of that release and our artist for the payment of the sale of that release, why this *isn't* theft? Thank you, Steve Cuneiform Records

WC> Well, it is stealing. It's stealing the artist's royalty that WC> otherwise would have been paid if the burned-copy-recipient had WC> bought a legit copy instead.

Still, technically it is not. The artist's royalty probably is underpaid, but there is no stealing.