Apples and Oranges. We don't have a problem of our artwork being shared to the extent of our work being traded in Kazaa, probably never will. We also don't have the interest of a money grabbing industry. I have yet to see alot of graphic labels/houses that pay little to their artists and reap a huge profit from the artists work. That's the funny thing about it. The artists don't seem to mind as much as the labels?

The problems we see as graphic artists that we worry about most; Others making a profit on our art without proper compensation, stealing our work and claiming it as their own, or using our work in a commercial interest without asking us. In which the current copyright laws protect us just fine. Without us invading anyones privacy. Really how many of us have looked on Kazaa for copies of our artwork?

Best way for RIAA to fix the problem would be to lower their profit a bit. Cut CD prices on new artists CDs to say $5 to $10 buck range, not the $16 to $20 bucks you see now. Cut the profit needed for legit places like iTunes, Napster, etc from .80 cents a song title to say .35 to .40 cents a song. Make an individual song cost .50 cents. Why should I turn to iTunes when I can buy the CD for just about the same price and have a cold hard product in my hand, not to mention the CD jacket etc? The only thing it can save me is the songs I don't really care for. This could double the sales of CD and iTunes, as we would probably still spend about the same amount for our music but have twice as much to show for it, and fulfill the promise that the RIAA made to us in the late 70s early 80s that CD prices will fall as the cost to press a CD falls.

The RIAA should spend the money they are spending now on court costs by lowering costs to the individual. MP3s are nothing more then cassette recordings of 45s. Yeah I am old enough to remember records and making cassettes from songs on the album. iTunes and Napster are providing this generations 45s, lower the cost and reap the rewards. But in the end for RIAA it really is all about the money not the fans.

Sorry I don't mean to turn this into an attack on RIAA. They are just doing what is best for their interests. In the end, as I stated above the court's decision doesn't really change anything for us.