Those are all counterarguments I made to him.

(There are artists whose intended output is a lithograph, though -- many Art Nouveau artists come to mind -- and I made the argument of a fax of one versus an actual one, though even actual lithograph versus a poster is reasonable.)

The point being that I hadn't considered the fact that the artist might feel that his work is worth a certain amount, regardless of how much of it he receives. Digital distribution might well be considered, from the artist's point of view, as a way to reduce his overhead, not a way to lower the price.

Again, those are all valid counterarguments, and, as a commercial venture, the proprietor must consider the consumers' desires, but, from a certain point of view, the artist is still getting his music to individuals. He doesn't care what format it's in, only the consumer does.