[RogueIsland]

I kinda think that the RIAA and the "artists" are making too much money on their so-called "intellectual property".

Actually, the RIAA has no particular interest at all in whether the artists make a dime (and would actually prefer they don't even make the dime, so long as they are producing new revenue-generating product under contract). This is all about the recording industry itself.

[Orange1998]

Jesse Jackson shake down.

[antiRepublicrat]

ctually, the RIAA has no particular interest at all in whether the artists make a dime

It gets even better. The money the RIAA gets from the victims goes straight back into the extortion machine, not a dime to the artists. Not only that, but the settlement people sign has two interesting clauses:

• Victim admits that he illegally shared files
• RIAA does not promise that this is all the legal action that will be taken in the issue

IOW, the victim who signs is still open to suits by the artists and composers, and the victim has already legally admitted to wrongoing, making those cases a slam-dunk.