The Travails of the Astounding!

So I'd just downloaded the Stubbs the Zombie soundtrack, (which has a mind blowing list of awesome bands covering 50s era soda-pop songs), and with the normal tracks and album art in the folder was a text file entitled "I don't condone piracy but make CDs cheaper!.txt", I was so smitten with the notion of this nestled soapbox that I've decided to share it with you.

Ok, I thought instead of the usual ASCII-inspired artwork you normally get with these files, I thought I'd share my view on CD piracy with those who have downloaded this file.
Surprisingly, I don't condone media piracy in any way. If artists have made something that is enjoyable to others they should be paid for it, and the large CD/DVD collection which I have legitimately purchased is proof that I am more than willing to do so.
Now. If most of the money that I paid went to the artists (which in this country is considerable!), that'd be fine by me. But it doesn't. It goes to agents, publicists, record companies, distribution companies etc. Which to a certain extend is also ok; they do their part in making the artist's work available to the public and should be compensated for it accordingly.
However. What I do mind in the extreme is the corporate fatcats who own these various companies and whose only goal in life is to make more money than they will be able to spend in a lifetime. Sony. CBS. MCA. RCA. BMG. Whoever. The ones 'behind the scenes' who don't actually do any real work except for keeping record prices at an inflated level way beyond the actual manufacturing/distribution cost.
I'm one of those people who doesn't earn a lot of money. I'm not stupid, but I've chosen a life path that doesn't involve the accumulation of wealth. I enjoy listening to music but I'm fed up with having to pay over the odds for something that cost very little to make after the initial outlay.
Make CDs and DVDs cheaper to buy and people will choose to buy them over downloading an inferior quality product over the internet. Everybody loves having a nice shiny CD case with a booklet.
Hey, BMG, if you make a billion less this year, will you really notice? ;)