The Recording Industry Association of America has recently threatened college students that use peer-to-peer file sharing programs to download music illegally.  Since the days of Napster, file-sharing software has been the bane of the music and software industry.  Recent advances in technology and software have made it easier to download movies, much to the chagrin of the Motion Picture Association of America.

In an open letter posted on InsideHigherEd.com, Mitch Bainwol, chairman and CEO and Cary Sherman, president of the Recording Industry Association of America explain their position.  “[T]here is broad understanding of the impact from this activity, including billions of dollars in lost revenue, millions of dollars in lost taxes, thousands of lost jobs, and entire industries struggling to grow viable legitimate online market places that benefit consumers against a backdrop of massive theft.”

Thousands of lost jobs?  Did this mean music companies would be forced to fire bands?
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