RIAA claims they won the P2P war

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) says unauthorised song swapping has been “contained” and pirates are now losing ground. The RIAA has managed to shut down BearShare, WinMX and Grokster while others have turned legitimate. It has sued over 18,000 individuals for sharing songs online, with 4,500 settling for about $4,000 per case.

“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.”

The RIAA has managed to shut down BearShare, WinMX and Grokster while others have turned legitimate. It has sued just over 18,000 individuals for sharing songs online, with 4,500 settling for about $4,000 per case.

While album sales have continued to fall, Bainwol says digital sales, up 77 percent, make up for the shortfall.

Still, Bainwol has to have made the most optimistic comment in the media since President Bush claimed that the war in Iraq was over a few years ago.

Source: www.theinquirer.net and www.usatoday.com