Jens:
I just finished reading the earlier Downloading thread and I honestly don't understand your (apparent) anger with downloading. Yes, there will always be those who just want something for nothing - but, IMHO, the smart thing is to think of it as FREE PUBLICITY (that's how more and more artists are viewing it as). Who is going to pay $10, $20, $30 for an album by a band they've never heard of? The culture is a bit different in the States and Canada than it is in Europe (I can't speak for other areas), in that the ONLY music you will hear on the radio is what the BIG record companies WANT you to hear. If you're not "Top 40", you're not getting on the radio - it's that simple.
So how are people supposed to hear you? How are they supposed to know about you?
Not to mention that there are hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of USED CDs/DVDs being sold every day, that the band (or the record company) will never see any money from. So, since you don't see any money in USED CD/DVD sales, should they now become illegal also? Mind you, I do support prosecution of those individuals who SELL anything in that manner - copied CDs/DVDs sellers should be fully prosecuted (that is my definition of a "pirate").
To attack your own fan base is like shooting yourself in the foot -- no fans = no money at all. As I mentioned in my post above, P2P has opened up a whole world of new music to me (and subsequently drained my bank account) seeing concerts and buying CDs/DVDs. You can't see a concert here for under $30 (if you're lucky!) - and if you go with someone (like a wife/husband), you just doubled that. I'll be spending over $80 US to see you guys in October and I'll probably end up picking up a CD or DVD at the show as well (and merchandise at shows is ALWAYS more expensive than one can get it for - legitimately - on the net).
And why? Because I was able to download enough stuff to decide that I LIKE you guys and that I want to see/hear more.
Those people who download stuff and never buy the real stuff would never have spent the money in the first place (not to mention the inherent inferior quality of MP3s compared to CDs). One of these days, people will come to realize (as a recent independant study shows - Illegal downloaders are also biggest spenders: research
http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2 ... 50727.html) that downloading does
not result in "lost" sales - it results in
increased sales, because more people are exposed to the material.
Just because someone downloads something does not mean that they will not later purchase it.
I hope I haven't managed to piss you off at all
--- Dragon77
. Last year i started working, so, little by little i am buying all stratovarius discography. 
I bought Blaze - Silicon Messiah for 3 euro!!! And yes it's an original copy, yes it was from a proper legal store. Amazing! I bought a new copy of Visions (because my old copy got scratched) for 10 Euro. Also amazing!