"Copying"...what does that mean?

Hum. Something just occurred to me. It's probably trivial and known already, so sue me I'm bored. Creating an mp3 from a known recording is actually not "copying" at all. mp3 is a lossy form of compression..."unnecessary" information is thrown away, but any audiophile can tell the difference between the mp3 and the original. Does this mean that enforcing copyright laws basically means dis-allowing experiences similar to those triggered by the "actual" recording? -TD