RIAA SETTLES WITH SUCCESS
And who can blame them?

The BIG BAD's terror campaign against file sharing seems to be working as CNN TECH reports that it has scored settlements with 50 or more of the original 261 copyright infringements suits it has filed. And who can blame those who do settle? When one sees what the RIAA can do to grandmothers and 9 year old girls, taking their social security checks and lemonade money - much less the college tuition of students, is it any wonder why the average file sharing Joe would settle to get them out of the crosshairs? Some experts speculate that settlement payments have ranged from $2,500 to $7,500 each, with at least one settlement for as much as $10,000.

The campaign of terror is working too as the POST reports that traffic to the Kazaa file-sharing network has fallen a whopping 41 percent since the Recording Industry Association of America started suing college students for illegal music trading.

"The RIAA is clearly sending a strong message to American Web users, and the message appears to be working," said Nielsen analyst Greg Bloom, according to The Los Angeles Times.

And all this could be avoided if the RIAA would just embrace music downloads as a legitimate and AFFORDABLE distribution alternative.