Bicycles are also too expensive for young people to afford. And cars. Though I'm quite certain that if we could transmit them cleanly, as in white collar electronic form, we would find a way to justify their theft as well. If a photographer's image cannot be used without permission from the artist, why do you feel entitled to take freely from the music industry?
My brother works with some of the biggest names in the music industry, and Ntscdan, the artists do make MUCH bigger money than the anyone else in the loop. It's part of their contract that they pay only a percentage to the company, managers, etc. Look, these people make bank--like most people in the overpaid entertainment industry--but it seems to me that as avid internet users, we have simply devised a rationale for supporting our habits. I just paid $130 for a cell phone, one that cost maybe $5 to manufacture. Do you think I have the right to steal it just because of the markup?
I do not work in the music industry, but I am writing a novel. And no, I am not about to give it away over the internet, or accept that the public will download it for free without my permission. Because in some traditional vault of our culture, that is still considered theft.