Think before you dowload your music...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/40761412@N00/8538647622

Inherent value to me, is not  necessarily about  monetary value, but is more about the value of the impact and impression a song leaves on a person/persons. Whether music has inherent value or not is very opinion oriented. A specific song for one person might mean the world to them or has gotten them through a hard time, but for another person that song might get on their nerves or they may have never heard of that song before. Music can change your mood in a moment. It is a very valuable thing, to be able to have such power to convey and inspire any emotion you can think of.
Music is very valuable because it can help people through a hard time. For example, When my grandfather died last year, it was a very hard time for me because I had never had a death very close to me before. At his wake they played an old Irish prayer song and to this day that song gets me through the days when I miss my grandfather and always helps me to remember him.  Music is a universal language. Some people say the same thing about math, but I think music is a much more fun way to communicate with people from other cultures. Not all music should have a set inherent value. I think there is a monetary value in music, but also an emotional and sometimes sentimental value as well.
Some people chose to purchase music illegally online. Although this may be their way of supporting the artist, I believe it is cheating the artist and their production workers out of possible profit. In today's world it is so simple to copy or take music illegally with all the technological advancements in place. Because of my value of music in the above paragraphs, I do not think there is any wiggle room when it comes to the obtaining of free music, although, there is one exception. I think it is OK to LEGALLY purchase a CD them loan it to a friend for them to download on their computer. I think this is okay because the CD has already been purchased and paid for. Although different music has different inherent value, all music produced my any artist that is getting paid to make music, deserves credit and the fair amount of income for their works.
There are numerous ways in which people can obtain free music without cheating the artist. Their are countless online sources like You Tube, Pandora and other radio websites or apps. These outlets are just as available, if not more available than if you were to purchase the music from an illegal program. I think an artist should be able to collect the deserved amount of money for their work during their career and even after. If an artist is no longer making music, but had a hit song many years ago, as long as that song is played on things like radio, TV, and other media outlets i believe that the original artist should get credit for the song. I think it everyone can agree that it would be unreasonable for someone who likes and wants an item of clothing to walk into either a small boutique or a large department store and simply take it off the shelves without paying for it. This is pretty much what people do when they purchase music illegally online. 
The economic system in America is based on the idea of supply and demand. When the supply of music music is limitlessness and available to just about anyone, the demand for the product can increase and increase without contributing economically whatsoever to the artist.