as a band/artists you need to really spend money for all of these. but what i'm saying is that, you'll earn it eventually.
you gotta share good music.. basically, if you can give it away for free why not?
the point is, as an artist you need to reach out to each and every one, not just your rich fan, but the masses as well.
there are a lot of struggling people nowadays that are really wanting to get their fave bands/artists orig cd, but failed to do so since it's not practical. so they settle for less, hence pirated music...
so, why not sell it for a cheaper price?
Because, my friend, our musical intruments need maintenance, our cars need gas to get to gigs, and bills have to be paid, both for music-related stuff and our own actual lives. As I said...unless you're really effing rich, you have to worry about real-life expenses.
As for the idea of "earning it eventually" - that's a fallacy! you never know if you will. unless you really preach to the lowest common denominator and sell out. to keep the faith with good music - or at least, uncompromised music - is a lesson in faith: you will make good music, but you better be prepared if it never hits big.
Besides. a true artist makes money and a living off his art - that is the measure of a true artist, to be able to live off the dream - even if it is not as rich as he would like it to be...so...how do you become a true artist if you keep on giving everything away for free?
And let's not get into the Radiohead argument here - because they were already an established band before they did their thing - they already have the money and the clout to do what they did.
If y9ou really believe in your favorite artists...then you make sure they can keep on doing it. and that means...give them a livelihood!
There's no such thing as free!