Originally Posted by NewNick

This is the problem - digital or otherwise does not make a difference.

It is not the fault of the copyright holder that you no longer have access to previous purchases.

When you made your original purchase you were not given complete rights to the work. You were not allowed to use it for financial gain, or broadcast on the radio for instance. You purchased the limited right of listening to the work from the medium upon which it was delivered to you.

If this was not the case you would not have had to purchase further copies at any time since.

Just because the work can now be delivered to you in another format does not give you the right to take it without giving due consideration to the holder of the copyright.

It is theft.

The discussion is a moral one not a legal one, and the shop analogy is important because if you had to sneak into a shop evading the security to steal the product with the threat of being caught and punished, you would probably not bother. The fact that the theft is easy and will go unnoticed is why you would even consider it in the first place.