CT pirates....

[Teaflax]

It's like the argument that downloading mp3s makes people buy more music but really, a lot, not all, of people who download mp3s are cheap bastards who wouldn't buy music anyway.

It's not an argument, it's a proven fact that those who download the most tend to be the same ones who actually spend the most on media. The cheap bastards who wouldn't buy the thing anyway aren't a loss.

Especially when you're starting out, piracy (or "free sharing" if you allow it) is a strong and effective way of building a fan base that can then be nurtured and eventually bring you income, not through coercion and limitations on the products but by offering them convenience and relying on their goodwill.

Building and maintaining a fan base is as important as creating good product these days. One way of making sure you get enough money to create a product is to sell pre-release copies and not produce anything until you've got enough money to do so (the Marillion model)..But overpricing, poor physical product and limited distribution is not particularly smart - I really, really hope CT can overcome those hindrances and flourish, because even if I found The Oozing Skull to be fairly weak, I'm confident that CT has its best days ahead of it.