Barry Ritzholtz has excellent commentary in this entry at his blog at The Big Picture. He writes accurately about RIAA's success in framing the issue, which includes government, media, and public opinion. Yet this is only the second form of power. The first form is direct action, such as lawsuits.

The third form of power is the quashing of alternatives. This is the ugly side of the hidden hand of the market. In monopolistic situations we never see real options. In this context RIAA has been extraordinarily successful. There is virtually no private funding in the consumer P2P sector. There has not been any real innovation. P2P software and the P2P user experience today are not substantially different from that of Napster several years ago. Even in the legal music download market the rise of iTunes didn't occur until fully five years after other online stores took off, and only because it was driven by the runaway success of iPods.

Ritzholtz lets RIAA set its own standards for qualifying its success.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is the trade group that represents the U.S. recording industry. Its mission is to foster a business and legal climate that supports and promotes our members' creative and financial vitality . . . In support of this mission, the RIAA works to protect intellectual property rights worldwide and the First Amendment rights of artists; conduct consumer industry and technical research; and monitor and review state and federal laws, regulations and policies.

He concludes:

So how successful is the RIAA?

By their own measures, they have achieved some of their goals -- at least in the short term. They have moved industry friendly legislation forward. And as mentioned above, they have successfully framed the debate over P2P and other new technologies.

Over the longer haul, however, they have turned their industry into one universally disliked by its clients and artists, alienating a huge percentage of their consumers; They have missed many many business opportunities and focused on the wrong issues, overemphasizing the glam of P2P litigation, over the nitty gritty hard work of counterfeit enforcement. Lastly, they have failed to adapt to the rapid pace of technological changes.

If their goal is to "support their members' financial vitality," than we will not fully know the answer to this question for some time to come. But I have a sneaking suspicion that, without a significant shift, the answer will be not very well.

I agree. If the labels embraced P2P by making music files available over P2P, compulsory licensing, or intelligent marketing, industry revenues would be substantially higher than they are now.

But ... as the trade group of an oligopoly RIAA is only the voice of its members. It does not set policy. It does not conduct business. Its members, not RIAA, are mismanaging their financial vitality. RIAA is only responsible for controlling the market and politics and protecting member assets. And it has done a smashing job!

Marc Freedman
RazorPop, developer of TrustyFiles, the leading multiple network P2P file sharing software
Are you a major entertainment company or marketer? Then you need BrandedP2P.
Are you an independent artist or small content provider? Check out the Do-It-Yourself P2P Street Team.