RIAA Lawsuits -- Will Suing College Kids "Save" the Music Industry

The Recording Industry Association of America recently targeted illegal file sharing on 19 more campuses. It is sending "pre-litigation" letters to universities, asking them to pass them on to students. These letters offer the chance for students to buy themselves out of lawsuits at a reduced rate. Essentially, they're telling these students, "write me a check for X, or we'll sue you for Y."

While the RIAA is certainly not wrong for pursuing legal action for pursuing legal action against those who infringe on its copyrights, they do not appear to be doing themselves any favors by doing so. And in doing so, they neglect the other reasons that their industry is in trouble.

There is no doubt that downloading has had an impact. Looking at the RIAA's own figures from 1990 through 2006, sales in total dollars have dropped to their lowest point since 1993. But is this all the fault of illegal downloaders? Or are other factors in play?