Gosh I actually logged in to comment on this... Yes I went out to Stirling today and supported one of my local shops there; they had bands on out front and back and even the Scottish weather managed to stay mostly sunny. Never seen the place so busy before! Long live the analogue hole :)

And now the real-kicker (at least for me), where's the compensation for the artist? Nope, I'll stick with buying cd's at concerts, it's not a good option, but it's the smallest evil option

Not really, because a lot of bands have to actually buy their CDs from the record company to sell at concerts. And they don't get them wholesale price either...

Dang, there goes my chance to moderate :(