The ability to duplicate intellectual property

The record industry manages it.

well quite. they are bitching about falling revenues, and though it's right to be sceptical of these claims, don't you think that things are going to change? CD duplication equipment etc is much more widespread than it was when the CD format was first introduced (obv) and at a DOMESTIC level no less.

But people have had tape decks for years. There aren't many audiophiles in the world, and the ones that there are probably are the same ones who like having the original packaging. Plus, shock horror, some people like to pay their way.

tape decks could not make duplicates with NO drop in fidelity though. moving over to digital storage means that the music (if not the packaging etc) can be flawlessly reproduced every time. actually identical copies rather than a facsimile.

Find a way too make duplicating it too difficult for most to bother - see games industry and what they are trying to do with CD's.

Provide added value in the packaging - like gatefold sleeves.

Make it so cheap as to make it pointless to copy - Like If I want to copy a CD, photocopy the inserts etc Is it worth spending 1/2 an hour doing this when the CD is only £10?

Make it so expensive as to make the odd pirate irrelevant to profits. (see also games and CD's)

I've always argued that MY piracy doesn't hurt any industry, as in all likelyhood I would never have bought that Game/CD in the first place (if it was something I really wanted/liked I would have bought it straight off)
As a result I may be more likely to buy any subsequent releases...

Alan, like I said, not that many people care about perfect copies. The instant track access thing might a bigger deal, I concede.

I'm the same as Simeon on this - I copy a fair bit but buy stacks more. They did some survey of heavy Napster users and found that, surprise surprise, they tended to have enormous record collections. Of course, this doesn't prove in itself that if copying were impossible that these people wouldn't have bought even more, but even if this were the case, you could look at it as a kind of DIY reward scheme or bulk discount.