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i just download MP3's, which is like bootlegging but it is still legal

Only in the dodgy back streets of Naples, where CDs marked "not for sale" are quite openly on sale, and at prices at which even the Camorra can't be making much profit.

Pirat CDs are six times cheaper than authorised staff. Any wonder?

I have bought quite a few bootleg recordings---all of the live shows, none of them pirated recordings of official releases. I have also traded for many others. I happen to enjoy live music more than studio recordings, and unless acts start releasing more live material, I'll keep buying and trading. I saw Clapton last April, and six weeks later I had an outstanding recording of the show on CD-R. I tell you, if the bands were smart, they would offer the soundboard recordings by mail-order---I'll bet they'd sell a ton of them!

Yes, I have bought bootlegs before. However, since learning how copyright and artist royalties work (the artist almost always gets shafted), I can honestly say I will never do it again. I feel terrible about it.

Sometimes, the pirated one sounds as good as the original one, and it's cheap too. Normally I buy the pirated because I want to make sure that the album contains satisfying songs or music. If OK, I go for original one.

Had a second copy of a Zeppelin bootleg as a kid. Even to my less discerning teenage ears, it sounded like crap. I imagine most bootlegs do. I still haven't come across anything I couldn't live without.

Bought pirated analog tapes a long time ago. Sound was terrible!!

Any shred of consideration is quickly dashed by the crappy packaging and questionable character the seller presents. Basically, if I am going to spend any money, it is better to buy the legitimate product, if only for quality reasons.

Ive heard the sound quality of bootleg recordings and truthfully I think most of them sound horrible. If I like something and have to have it, I just pay whatever it cost from a retailer. I would feel more ripped off buying bootlegged material than normal retail. What most people fail to understand is that yes the cost of the cd may cost a dollar or two, but there's also the cost of printing the booket, advertising costs production costs and so many other factors that keep the cost of recorded material so high.

I have never knowingly purchased pirated music. What's the point? It hurts legitimate music producers. As consumers purchase more legal copies of CDs, they help drive the pricing of this format. Each pirated CD represents a sale that hurts both the consumers and the music industry.

Yes, I have. I have very few bootleg recordings, I prefer to buy official releases. Sometimes it is the only way you can get some of the music from some bands. Some songs are never released on an official release album but are availlable on bootlegs. For whatever reason, they weren't thought worthy of release, or they were added in the mix of a live performance for the fun of playing it. Make no mistake, I don't think bootlegging is a great thing; the sound quality is very poor, but for the music collector some of these performances are priceless. In the last few years the major labels have released materials that have long been available on bootlegs, sometimes for decades. Bob Dylan's much-raved-about "Royal Albert Hall Concert" would be a very faint memory in a few people's minds without it having been bootlegged. A number of bands have let their shows be recorded---look at the archives of the Grateful Dead, the great Sinatra concerts, and so much more. I would rather buy it on official records, but if I can't and there is a boot available . . .

NO PIRATED MUSIC DOES NOT SOUND AS GOOD AS THE ORIGINAL

I have been hearing about bootleg cd's being offered for sale here locally, mainly from spanish speaking outlets (music stores.) All this does,IMHO, is create price increase(s) and lower quality in futurepurchases of ligitimate merchandise.

Protecting the creators rights in the music field is probably the most difficult because most people wrongly think that it's 'just music'- not the copyrighted material of an artist who is creating but also trying to make a living. Most of us think it is wrong to buy stolen property but that's what music pirating is - stealing. Digital distribution of music, photos, and art is certainly an important part of our future, but it is also important to recognize that it is a business transaction. Whether there's a counter between us and the creator or not.

I'm insulted that you would even ask me this question.

The kinds of stuff you have in stock, looks great. The prices are reasonable and the service looks great.

i would be concerned that the pressing quality would be as inadequate as the intelligence that stoopped to theft to reproduced it.