But we represent starving recording artists!

If anyone was doubting that the RIAA does not have as its first priority the artists that it claims to represent, today's news might just convince you beyond a shadow of a doubt. As crazy as it sounds, the RIAA is petitioning a judge to actually LOWER the percentage of a song sale that goes to an artist! The article puts it quite nicely:

At best the RIAA is kicking artists when they're down via this action, and at worst has fully revealed that despite repeated claims that artists need to be protected from piracy, the organization is very much the tool of the major labels and publishers who have famously never really cared about the artists in the first place.

The article continues...

Tactics like this raise serious concerns for the future of interoperable DRMs and any trend towards more rapid acceptance of new technology and the demands it imposes upon the music distribution industry. If the RIAA is nothing but a litigious arm of the stodgy business men in the music industry who can't see past a perceived necessity of protecting established revenue streams rather than pursuing innovation and listening consumers' demands, it seems doubtful that the litany of complications currently facing consumers who demand flexibility in managing their legally acquired digital content will be resolved anytime soon.

Hear, hear.