Every week, groups like th RIAA, BPI and CRIA come out with increasingly outrageous claims about file-sharing and music-evangelism. They’re always ready to issue some nutsoid statements about piracy being linked to terrorism, cancer or male-pattern baldness. The root of all evil appears to be you downloading the new Sugababes single.

But hold on, what’s this? A new report from the the CRIA that they haven’t trumpeted from on high? I wonder why that is? Could be because it contradicts the copyright propaganda they normally issue:

In summary, CRIA’s own research now concludes that P2P downloading constitutes less than one-third of the music on downloaders’ computers, that P2P users frequently try music on P2P services before they buy, that the largest P2P downloader demographic is also the largest music buying demographic, and that reduced purchasing has little to do with the availability of music on P2P services. I’ve argued many of these same things, but now you don’t have to take my word for it; you can take it from the record labels themselves.
(Source: Michael Geist)

I have my own paranoid theory about why the big bosses want to shut down our best access to new music. It’s good to see that my madness is supported by this study’s results.

Of course, you won’t see this report on the telly or hear it on the radio. Funny that, innit?