Free music downloading, a vital issue

Below are two authors' opposing views on the subject of free music downloading, a vital issue at the forefront of the music community's ability to maintain a going concern. My personal opinion is simple: intellectual property (music) must be valued as a product manufactured for sale exactly like any other product, bought and paid for by the consumer.

We can look at negotiating prices according to demand, making returns allowable, providing free samples at the manufacturer's or seller's discretion, and find solutions in these and other well-established business practices in all other markets. But the consumer must realize that whenever anything is given away for free, it's not really...... it's only that someone else has paid the price. Eventually the costs will be passed down to the consumer in other forms. So if file sharing groups and websites eventually become higher-priced subscriptions, here are a few reasons why.