RIAA praises “magnificent” P2P

Bainwol uses some selective statistics to show how badly the industry is hurting. With overall sales dipping only slightly in line with the economic downturn, and with CD sales now on the rebound, this is a challenge. So Bainwol uses a declining sector of the market to illustrate his point.

"In 2000, the top ten hits sold 60 million units in the U.S. Seven of the ten sold more than 5 million units each; every one of them sold at least 3 million units. Then the slide kicked in. Last year, in 2003, the top ten hits were cut almost in half, to 33 million units. Just two of the ten sold more than 5 million units; five of those top ten hits sold less than 3 million units," he reckons.

The industry's logic is based on it being a hit machine, then subsidizing other acts on this using these proceeds. But a critic might point out that if the fortune generated by hits is down so significantly - and sales are holding up - then what Bainwol claims to be his industry's basic business model is flawed.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/07/16/bainwol_induce_letter/