Why is the RIAA suing file-sharers?
There are several reasons why the RIAA has chosen to file lawsuits against individuals who are illegally making copyrighted music files available through online file-sharing services. Sales of pre-recorded CDs have declined by about 30% over the past 5 years. The RIAA believes that file-sharing is the main reason for this dramatic decline in sales (a logical assumption considering that the sales decline began shortly after file-sharing started to become popular due to the original Napster file-sharing company). As a result of this sales decline, the music industry is in dire straights – the 5 major record companies have laid off thousands of employees and many independent record companies, music publishers and retail stores are struggling to stay in business or have gone out of business. The RIAA has tried to combat file-sharing in several ways. At first, the RIAA limited its legal actions to the file-sharing services, winning lawsuits against Napster and Aimster. Although the RIAA suf
