Or they know and don't care. Buying a trashy novel isn't normally considered a form of estate planning. I know I've purchased books with the expectation of reading them once and then forgetting about them. I've also purchased a few or online readers that in principle I'd like to reread but in practice seemed more fun to have on a device. I'm certainly aware of the licensing issues (though to be honest I wasn't considering the interests of my heirs!) but I did it anyway.

Many purchases are disposable, and it seems to me that this is the realm where digital media is aimed right now. If you think about it, this is always the way we've bought some media, like newspapers and magazines.

People have traditionally tended to collect music, however, unlike newspapers and magazines. Coming in contact with someone's interesting record collection used to be a memorable event. Piracy has made music less scarce, though, and the mystique of music has lessened because of it.

Actually I deliberately skipped music and movies. These are areas where DRM has tended to work very badly. Basically, people still like to collect music. And those who do do it in archivable form, overwhelmingly so. The "problem" there isn't that they're unknowingly buying in to a bad license regime, it's that they're knowingly evading the license regime entirely.

A collection can be a collection of references. You don't need the music now to put it on your list of favorites and conversation topics.

Yes - my music collection is entirely in mp3s from various sources, but it is still a good get-to-know you area.

They don't know, from my personal observations. Sometimes I think that they to be required to label the "buy" button as something else other then buy.

Even worse is that Big Media uses the very same misleading words in their advertisements, and that reinforces the consumer misconception of ownership.

How many times have you heard the announcer on a tv ad say "Own it on Blu-Ray or DVD now"? So much for truth in advertising.

You do own DVDs and Blu-rays. The problem is with the other stuff.

You own the right to watch that film in the privacy of your own home.