Copy kills music or maybe not?

Sometimes I get asked, “Do you have a CD of mars mushrooms that I can copy?” Politely the person adds, “I only need it for a short time so I can put it on my iPod.” When that happens I never know what to think.

Of course as an artist I should be happy that there is demand for my music and that it gets spread around. If that person recommends my music to a friend and so on and all of them come to a concert I am better off than selling only one copy. On the other hand, what does this tell me about the value of my music? I know, since the person asked for my music, he at least appreciates it. So I guess it would be wrong to say that he does not value it.

But what about those times where you wanted to buy the music of an up and coming band because you knew this band needed the money? Is there a difference between copying music from the big stars or the small guys? Maybe you can help me on this…