Isn’t it ironic that the Recording Industry of America is claiming people are unfairly stealing from them? I mean, isn’t that like Pinochet claiming that some guy on the street is unfairly killing people he hadn’t gotten around to yet? “Oh, I’m sorry for stealing – we as the music listening public forgot that that’s *your* job.” Lets face it – between enslaving artists and over-inflating music prices, the recording industry doesn’t exactly have an exemplary ethics record to begin with.

Ok, this is a topic that in the grand scheme of the world falls under “Hair color of Gwen Stephani” in the importance-o-meter, but many people are paying lots of money to blow it out of proportion, so I figure I can throw my two cents in, since everyone else already has.

Here’s the thing – the largest percentage of people who download music are 18-25 year olds. These are not a group of organized terrorists, having secret meetings plotting the end of the RIAA. It’s easier than that – they’re just POOR! They’re either in college and living off ramen noodles, or not in college and have the incredible income available to those with a High School education. Face it, 18-25 year olds do not make incredible amounts of money – unless, of course, they’re singing with 4 other white guys on stage.

A major point of confusion seems to be the difference between “using digital music” and “stealing digital music”. There’s a reason people use MP3′s – they are a convenient medium. The players are small, the playlists are large. Now, here’s where I’m lost. In 9th grade economics we learned this simple concept called “Supply and Demand”. You see, when demand is high for something, you increase supply. The RIAA’s approach is the complete opposite though – customers want it, so it *must* be a bad thing and be destroyed. And look at the alternatives they give us? If people want cheap, convenient music, they can join a record club! 10 CD’s for 4 cents, and then you get inundated with paying full price for albums no one else wanted for the rest of your life. Wow, Chumbawumba’s latest? Gee, thanks.

Why doesn’t the recording industry encourage MP3 swapping anyways? Kids giving their friends tracks from their favorite album isn’t stealing – it’s FREE ADVERTISING. Maybe they’ll become fans and buy the t-shirts, posters, and other krappy paraphernalia sold with a group.

So, to summarize – yes, people steal music, but the recording industry stole from us first. If they had some common sense, they would realize the marketing potential rather than focusing on 18-25 year olds who can’t afford to pay outrageous prices anyways.