[canuck_conservative]

"The plunge in swapping and sharing songs was prompted by a spate of lawsuits as well as the growth of legal online music stores, said Mary Madden, co-author of the Pew report. "

Or, maybe all the serious music buffs have already downloaded all the stuff they needed to complete their collections.....

[Holly_P]

I am one of the "criminals" I like all the old stuff anyway and I have more than 1100 songs on my hard drive.

[Malcolm]

You nailed it, Chretien. I've already gotten the bulk of what I wanted. There are about 20-25 more that I want, but I don't want to be sued, and I'm tired of all the extra software you get when you download Bearshare's free version, which is the only one I like.

But the thing the RIAA and it's record company partners do not see, is the lasting negative effect these lawsuits will have on future business. Plus, on top of that, the internet has made the record companies obsolete overnight. A new way to distribute your music has come about, and the minute the first person who figures out the business model to make it work, the record companies will go the way of the buggy whip. Good ridance to bad rubbish!!!