[citation][nom]edilee[/nom]No...you don't get it. The RIAA is protecting musical artist and their music. Contrary to popular belief not all musicians are rich. If said band/musician does not produce record sales due to P2P networks sharing their music for free then their contract will not be renewed. New artist normally DO NOT make any $$ for the first couple albums and are in debt to the record company until their third release as long as they are having some success....if they are not having success then they will be at your local bar playing.Record companies provide the funding for artist and are in charge of promoting and distributing their music so they are a very vital part of an artist success and yes these companies do make money from the sales generated. Who exacty do you think the RIAA is fighting for? This is a copy/paste stating what their missions is from their site...."In support of this mission, the RIAA works to protect the intellectual property and First Amendment rights of artists and music labels; conduct consumer, industry and technical research; and monitor and review state and federal laws, regulations and policies."A recording artist used to get about $1.25 per album sold for a established mildy successful artist so that rate starts lower for a new band with a first release and more popular artist pull more. This figure is from a few years back so I do not know the current rates but this should give some perspective as to what the artist makes and what they lose out when people "steal" their music.I personally hope the RIAA gets more aggressive so people will think twice before downloading music they did not pay for.[/citation]
Holey moley, how much does the RIAA pay you to shill for them? Major record companies make their money by scamming artists, and the RIAA is in place to make sure these companies continue to make a hugely disproportionate percentage of cash off of musicians. It's all about greed, and if you think otherwise you haven't been paying attention to the music business for the last thirty years or so.
If you feel the need to support your favorite artists, go to their shows and buy their merch. If you feel the need to support the RIAA, go buy an album from Walmart or Target.