So I don't really download music or movies or anything online, but recentely this idea has become very tempting because I'm getting into a lot of new music while simultaneously having a lot less money than I used to, so I considered just buying the CDs I want second-hand, as most of them are old R.E.M., The Cure and U2 albums so they'll likely be all over the charity shops.

However, if I'm buying CDs second-hand, might I just as well download the music illegally, as the artist isn't getting squat either way.

So can you really see any benefit to buying CDs second-hand over just downloading the album online?