I did a bit of research on the RIAA last year for a report on the retrenchment of independent record stores, I have a bit of knowledge about them. I'm not really fazed by what happens to them but I have more than enough marbles floating around to realize why it's happening.
The RIAA's ongoing lawsuits with music "pirates" is nothing more than a scare tactic aimed at the general public, and it's costing the big four far more in legal fees than they could possibly hope to recoup in the lawsuits themselves. These attempts are largely fruitless, and are aimed at distracting people from the misguided blunders they made in the mid-90s, doling out huge distribution contracts to big-box retailers.
Right now the RIAA is at the mercy of the American consumer, after virtually raping the independent market of its share in the music retail industry. The egregious distribution contracts they negotiated for fifteen years ago are coming back to bite them in the ass as they're faced with increasing pressure from retailers like Wal-Mart and Best Buy, who are (unsurprisingly) cutting back on the shelf space they usually devote to music. The only other reliable source of income are online distributors like eMusic and iTunes, and the big four receive pennies on the dollar in that market.
Expansion for the major labels is out of the question at this point; they're desperately trying to hang onto the assets they have left. And so, left to its own devices, the RIAA is still trying to fuck the American consumer in any way possible.
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