[Delirium-Zer0]

The RIAA are really being stupid and narrow-minded. For one thing, the economy isn't what it was. OF COURSE CD sales are gonna fall; people can't afford to buy a $17 cd when they hear one or two good songs off of it that they like. And plus, american music SUCKS right now for the most part, which is why I listen to jpop. I don't think there are more than 3 or 4 american artists right now that I even LIKE, much less am a big fan of. People who download MP3s also tend to just download songs they've already heard on the radio. The only difference is that now they can listen to the songs on-demand and not wait for the radio to play them, just like if they recorded it onto a tape. Knowing what people are like, they'll get tired of the song and throw away the mp3 in less than the amount of time it would have taken for the tape to wear out, so it's really NOT a threat at all. The RIAA should think of mp3s as a form of advertising; in all honesty, they may be the only thing saving the industry, because if people hear a song or two on the radio by a certain artist they can audition the rest of the album before they buy it. Plus, make no mistake about it, CDs ARE more convenient (which is why people write audio cds to begin with), plus you get the lyrics and nifty pictures and artwork, so if people really like an album they WILL buy it. Actually, I think the RIAA is more worried than anything about the RIAJ getting more attention and taking away from the US economy, haha ~ If not for mp3s i wouldn't have made the changeover to jpop because I wouldn't have been familiar with it. So there ya go.