Here’s some good evidence of why the RIAA is evil. Yes, evil. Or bad, wicked, not good.

A guy in Chicago is delivered a letter saying the RIAA is going to sue him. He knows he’s done nothing wrong, and he even hires an expert to examine his computer and make sure he doesn’t have any illegally downloaded music on it. Then he calls the RIAA to say there must be some mistake, but he can’t even get in touch with one of their lawyers, just a “Settlement Hotline.” (“For the low, low price of only $3,750, you can make this all go away! Act now while supplies last.”)

So after spending money on the computer expert, hiring an attorney, and spending who knows how much time on this thing, he finally gets to court, and the RIAA drops the case.

And he’s one of the few who have challenged this bullying in court. Do you know how expensive attorneys are? (I do…I work for one and do his billing.) $3,750 is a little less than it would cost to hire a litigating attorney to represent you, especially as long as the RIAA lawyers drag cases out.

This is not protecting artists’ copyrights. This isn’t even protecting record companies. This is extortion, pure and simple. Extortion is what the Mafia specializes in. It is not protection. It is unfair, unjust, and evil. Period.

When you buy a record from a record company that’s a member of the RIAA, you are supporting extortion. You are supporting evil. Even if it’s a Christian CD. (Not sure if that album is RIAA-safe? Use RIAA Radar.)

How can we stop this injustice? The RIAA drops any case that’s challenged, so they’ll never have a judge tell them, “Hey, you can’t do that!” The only way to stop them is if enough record companies complain about this “trade association” that supposed represents them. And the only thing record companies pay attention to is MONEY.

Don’t support extortion! Buy used!