RIAA paid its lawyers more than $16,000,000 in 2008 to recover only $391,000

[The Straight Story]

Ha ha ha ha ha. RIAA paid its lawyers more than $16,000,000 in 2008 to recover only $391,000!!!

Big hat tip to my friend Jon Newton at p2pnet.net for uncovering these documents.

The RIAA's "business plan" is even worse than I'd guessed it was.

The RIAA paid Holmes Roberts & Owen $9,364,901 in 2008, Jenner & Block more than $7,000,000, and Cravath Swain & Moore $1.25 million, to pursue its "copyright infringement" claims, in order to recover a mere $391,000.

Embarrassing.

If the average settlement were $3,900, that would mean 100 settlements for the entire year.

As bad as it was, I guess it was better than the numbers for 2007, in which more than $21 million was spent on legal fees, and $3.5 million on "investigative operations" ... presumably MediaSentry. And the amount recovered was $515,929.

And 2006 was similar: they spent more than $19,000,000 in legal fees and more than $3,600,000 in "investigative operations" expenses to recover $455,000.

http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/2010/07/ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-riaa-paid-its-lawyers.html

[Sherman A1]

1. Time for "the boys" to do a little

cost v benefit analysis on the program... I wonder how long they can afford these wonderful legal victories.

[L0oniX]

2. Hard to collect from teens.

[X_Digger]

3. I doubt they ever intended to make more than the lawsuits cost.

They see it as a way to influence public behavior, and cause people to reconsider using p2p.

To a certain degree, they succeeded. But by that same token, their actions prompted new services like btguard. It'll always be an electronic arms race; too many people are too used to being able to go download whatever they want with limited risk.

[HughMoran]

4. Yep

It's a 'deterrent'.

But, as you said, it just makes those into getting what they want without paying all the more determined.

[Pab Sungenis]

5. It was worth it to them.

They sent a lot of the more casual sharers running scared. It didn't stop the problem but, from their point of view, it limited the size of the problem.

[xchrom]

6. Free is the ultimate Cheap.

It even beats Walmart.

[KharmaTrain]

7. Too Big To Succede...

When historians look back on the implosion of the recording industry, the RIAA's stupidity, greed and ineptness will be a major cause. Instead of adapting to technical changes its fought them and lost big time. They alienated a generation of customers...the lifeline to their survival and then severed ties with radio and television that used to draw attention and sell their music. The more they fight the behinder they get as the days of buying CDs get replaced by downloads and anyone can produce music and distribute it without going through the controls of a record company. The downside is the loss of quality over quantity but the marketplace rules and the RIAA and record companies have come up snake eyes.