Before it gets better
This type of confusion probably means things will get a lot worse before they get any better.
Yes, that's the real story here. You can find almost any music by any artist on YouTube, and rip the audio to mp3 as easily as ripping a cd (does anybody remember cds?). Sound quality? Usually more than acceptable, to give a fan a feeling of "yeah I have that song" and add it to their playlist.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
