As I understand it most musicians say they do not make much money off CD sales, nor concert tickets. In fact most do not make any money that way. The place they say they make their money is on sales of shirts and other memorabilia at the shows, which the music companies have not yet found a way to get their fingers into.
The record companies say royalties do not make it to the musicians because the money is spent on promotion.
So if I understand this correctly stealing music by downloading songs free does not rob the musicians of anything and if I am to believe the record companies it doesnt rob them either, but only the promoters.
My point is these statements by the musicians and record companies when put together do not make a good argument that downloading music is theft but rather a clever way of eliminating offensive adds.