[nffc]

MP3s etc are inferior anyway.

No, CDs are about the right price. It's not just the artists who probably only get 1/15 of the price, the pressing may only cost about 50p but that's only due to the size of the run. Also rights, studio time, equipment hire etc all have to be done- that's even before it's prepared for the shelf when retailers, the label, distributors etc all have to have their expenses met.

Piracy will kill music- if a £'000 or £'000,000 run was made and only one copy was sold, and put on the internet, then the label would lose a phenomenal amount of money and would probably go bankrupt. In fact a lot of the major labels eg EMI, Warner are currently facing financial difficulties and having to cut their roster as a result.

And in any case- I'd rather have the original CD not a product of a lossy compression with the case, booklet etc.