RIAA and Music Piracy Despite

RIAA and Music Piracy Despite all efforts -- and claims -- to the contrary, there is little evidence that the actions taken by the Recording Industry Association of America have done much to dissuade the internet piracy of music. The RIAAs campaign of lawsuits against individuals is pretty much over, and they have already shut down the major file-sharing networks that they will be able to, yet the number of Internet-connected households that download music has remained at the same level since 2004 (RIAA par. 19).

The RIAA actually claims this as a victory, as the exponential growth that occurred prior to 2004 has ended (RIAA par. 19). In reality, however, it seems likely that the reduced growth in the number of houses connected to the Internet in this country (due to the fact that most homes have Internet connections) has more to do with the situation than the RIAA cares to admit. The RIAA likewise inflates its losses, claiming that music piracy causes losses of $12.5 billion and 71,060 jobs in the U.S.

(according to one of the country's most conservative think tanks that refuses to release information regarding its corporate sponsors)(RIAA par. 9). Though this might be the value of the music pirated, many illegal downloads are for songs tat people simply would not buy if forced to choose between paying and not having a particular song, meaning that little value is actually added to the music industry by ending piracy. In addition, the lack of.