[elif]

Their argument (rent, food, bills, etc) is parallel but also far more rational and applicable. The $16 you pay for your blue ray goes primarily to an oligarchical group of mega-corporations that use their clout to control the new media creation process as well as the marketplaces. No one in that process has struggled to pay rent since joining the club.

"Starving artists" that eventually succeed do so despite this cartel, and not because they were enabled by it. Meanwhile piracy has created an ecosystem where actual "starving artists" are giving away their music for free because they know that people who enjoy it will pay for it anyway, and can meanwhile enjoy the benefits of unlimited exposure to potential new fans.