i gave up on replacing destroyed cd's with downloaded versions. Nowadays i try to find indie music or i'll just listen to the song on youtube (until they shut that down too).
I just have to ask - what do you do to your CDs that means it's a routine thing for them to be destroyed and have to have to replace them with downloaded content. As they say, maybe "you're doing it wrong!"
I always bought - and continue to buy - CDs of music I like, and CDs I bought 17 years ago still work perfectly. I know the artist doesn't get very much from the sale, but I like to have proper media anyway. Wherever possible I do buy the CD directly from the artist. It happens at a lot of indie gigs, you head up to the stage afterwards and ask them (or their roadies if they're lucky) and most of the time they'll have a few with them. I happily give them the €10 or €20 they ask, and leave with that warm fuzzy feeling from knowing that they're actually getting the money... Well, from that and beer
