Not true. People could simply learn to make do with what they can afford, same as any other goods

It is true and that's not what happened historically. Piracy was an issue decades before digital media.

It began to flourish with the advent of dual deck cassette players which allowed people to exchange albums with their friends and duplicate them. Prior to that, some would record vinyl records to cassettes or even record radio broadcasts (DJs who took call-in requests assisted the process). Lots of people preferred making a cheap, low-quality copy over paying for music.

But the RIAA couldn't easily identify and sue these people unless they started selling copies. Digital media gave them an easier way to track piracy.