Lily Allen has attracted a lot of attention recently for leading a public charge against people (aka pirates) who download music. Not surprisingly, her efforts have attracted a lot of attention, including this excellent video by Dan Bull (see below).

Amid all the attention being paid to file-sharing, pirates and the RIAA, one of the biggest questions is why people need to “own” music. Why is that we need to buy CDs and/or download music (legally and illegally)? Is it the hunters and collectors part of our DNA that makes us want to possess music rather than just listen to it?

If the Internet has done anything for music, it has made it easier and quicker to listen to pretty much anything we want at any time. It’s a musical buffet that stretches for miles and miles so you can eat as music as you want for as long as you want.