Theft or sharing?

So, as you probably don't know, I got a notice from my school and the RIAA about my use of BitTorent to download an album that I was interested in hearing. The basic gist of the letter was that I had stolen said album and that I was to immediately delete the content.

Was this really theft though? Let's be honest, it was an artist I'd never really heard of before, and someone who I would never had boughten an album of. In the long term, does the fact that I've downloaded music mean that I'm 'taking' money away from hardworking musicians? Not at all. Firstly, it's a fact that musicians make less money from CD sales than from almost any other outlet. When a band puts out a CD most of the money goes into business expenses and to pay the producers. Musicians make their money from touring and from selling their products (hats, bags, shirts...)

Secondly, and note that I'm speaking from personal experience only,
downloading an album generally means that I'm more likely to go out and buy it. In all fairness, I would never buy albums if I haven't heard the sound before, especially a come out album. By downloading an album, you're giving consumers a chance to hear what you're offering, something only offered by radio. and let's be honest, radio isn't a great indicator. Not every band has songs that are all the same, and by basing choice off of what a radio station and/or a record label deems to be 'the best song(s)' from any specific album usually means you get disappointed.

Thirdly, and this is my big point, its completely legal for me to buy an album and give it to a friend. It's legal for someone to start a business selling used CDs. It's not legal for people I don't know to give me something? Looking at it logically, when I buy an album, I own those specific tracks in that specific instance. It's not illegal for me to buy a picasso print to then photocopy it for a friend. I'm not trying to pass it off as my own, I'm just getting people interested in what I think is cool.

But at the end of it all, I'm just a 19 year old kid who thinks the RIAA is a waste of time, space, and air.