The problem is, music, movie and software companies really need to do more to justify such a hefty price tag.

I purchased Sony Acid for about $300 to use in my music production. While it's a wonderful program, it was certainly not worth the price tag and I do use it to it's maximum potential. All it really did was consolidate a bunch of tasks into one program and made them easier to perform. In other words, I could still get the same results as I did before I purchased the program by using a multitude of freeware programs and a calculator. Sure, it took longer and required a bit of know-how, but is the ease of use worth $300? I'm still not sure.

As for the music industry, they need to make CDs worth buying again. I've seen some artists taking the right approach, such as including a DVD with extras, or a bonus CD of B-sides or such. Heck, I've even seen an artists include a comic book that goes along with the music and...a fold out chess board complete with pieces. These are things you just can't pirate.

In terms of downloading things illegally, I'll admit I do the 'try before you buy' rule. If an artist interests me, I may 'check out' there CD through the internet. If it sucks, I toss it. If it's good, I'll go out and purchase the actual CD. I always have and I always will. In the end, I've actually been buying more CDs since the rise of internet piracy, simply because I'm able to expose myself to a much wider variety of music with much less risk.

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