IP Democracy: RIAA Chief: File-Sharing is Under Control

USA Today’s Jefferson Graham has this almost-funny article today on how the CEO of the RIAA Mitch Bainwol believes that the record companies have succesfully “contained” music file-sharing.

“The problem has not been eliminated,” says association CEO Mitch Bainwol. “But we believe digital downloads have emerged into a growing, thriving business, and file-trading is flat.”

Not sure what Bainwol is smoking, but the article contains a contrary view that is probably closer to the truth: file-sharing of unauthorized music continues to grow.

Even with Grokster and WinMX shut down, their software programs still exist. Eric Garland, CEO of Internet measurement firm BigChampagne, says that more people than ever are using file-sharing networks. “Nearly 10 million people are online, swapping media, at any given time,” he says. That May figure is up from 8.7 million people in 2005, he says.

I’m with Gizmodo, which titles its entry on this absurd assertion, “RIAA: Mission Accomplished.” Mike at TechDirt applies his BS scan to this article and concludes

It appears that the RIAA goes through a slightly different “stages of grief” than your average person. It starts with lawsuits, is followed by gibberish, and then comes denial.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield on June 13, 2006 10:22 AM to IP Democracy