Analysis: Steal versus buy music online

This started as a review of Rhapsody's Web-based service, but as I was using the 40 free credits that you can get, I got to thinking. "Hey, I wonder if how difficult it is to make an MP3 of this stream?" Which led me to conclude I needed a cost benefit analysis of buying tracks online version stealing them off a stream.

I used Audacity to record the audio off the sound card as it was played. I spend about 15 minutes adjusting the input level so it was loud enough. My first attempt at a capture went well. Click record in Audacity, click play in Rhapsody, and let it roll.

After the track finished playing I went back and edited out dead air before and after, a result of delay between clicking "record" and "play," and after the song ended, clicking "stop" in Audacity.

It was too easy, really. Sound levels were too low, but I have SoundCheck enabled in iTunes, so the app took care of that. Quality was as good as most of my files.

Second and third attempts just as easy. Why would I ever pay for a song again? Well ...

• E-mail: Unless I remember turn off audible e-mail and calendar alerts, I will have plenty of songs with "ding!" as a major refrain. Ran into this on a Dylan tune. I edited it out with little noticeable trace left, but now I've invested more time into a flawed final product.
  
• System Burps: I decided to close an application while a stream was being recorded. My system totally stalled the stream, but Audacity kept recording. I was left with a three-second deadspace in the middle of the song to edit out. I couldn't close the gap without leaving a noticeable pop, so I had to trash it after spending 15 minutes. If I could spend 99 cents to get that time back, I would.

So now the scales are tipping in favor the legal way. We'll see how I feel tomorrow. Free may sound good again after I get over the editing frustration.