Suing your customers, as a long-term strategy, is dumb – even if they bring misfortune upon themselves. And the users of file-sharing networks who were sued Monday by the music industry can’t say they weren’t forewarned.
A generation of music fans don’t think twice about copyrights, which they associate with overpriced CDs and parasitic studio execs.
The labels won’t win back many of those customers until they make their full catalog of tunes easily accessible over the Internet, in formats that people want, at prices they’re willing to pay. That’s starting to happen – Apple Computer’s iTunes Music Store and BuyMusic.com are offering songs from 49 cents to $1 – but the offerings are limited. The music studios are still dragging their feet.
Along with filing the suits, the recording industry announced an amnesty program for all illegal downloaders. Remove all copyrighted files from your computer and sign an affidavit to that effect, and you’ll be spared future action.
That seems like a fair proposal.
There are signs that the industry’s anti-theft campaign is working to slow illegal downloads. But with 60 million file sharers in America, litigation alone will prove futile.

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