[WalterGR]

Lots of people don't pirate because of the cost, it just used to be the easiest/fastest way to get music/movies/games.

Rhapsody opened in 2001. If it took 9 years for music piracy to be "over", then I think there's something more at work than the "it's easier to pirate" defense.

[nkassis]

I know it worked for me personally, since amazon mp3 is around, I have no needed to look elsewhere. I do however find it annoying to have to keep a VPN going in the US to download music from Amazon in Canada. The restriction is ridiculous because it provides no real safety because there is no alternative for users. They will pirate instead. It's just dumb politics.

The Canadian version of the RIAA is even dumber than was originally though possible.

[WalterGR]

I know it worked for me personally, since amazon mp3 is around, I have no needed to look elsewhere.

Amazon MP3 opened to the public ~3 years ago. Did you pirate your music before? What requirement did it satisfy? Multi-platform-available DRM-free watermark-less high-bitrate MP3s?

[nkassis]

That's pretty much the reason(del free, no watermark and quality). I'be used amazon for at 2 years now and yes I used to pirate music. Started with.napster and use everything in between untilI discovered amazon mp3.

I guess the fact that I've been employed for the past 5 years and had money to spend on music also helped change my habits. Hence why I'm against suing college student who become your customers after.

[dewittm]

Indeed, the argument about pirating's ease being its biggest pro ignores one of its largest demographics—teens and college students with no or little money but a huge appetite for media.

(If you want to get pedantic about it, I suppose you could say that this is just an extension of the definition of ease-of-use; members of this demographic would have to go find and work a job in order to obtain media legally. In that sense, pirating is easier.)