RIAA: We're Not Leeching Enough

Remember how the RIAA and the music labels are always whining about how the artists are the ones you're hurting when you steal music? Despite, of course, the fact that the labels gouge the artists by forcing them to sign horribly unbalanced, labyrinthine, long-term contracts (how does 25 years strike you?) when the artists are starting out, and most artists have to earn their money through concerts because the labels rob them of nearly all the income from recordings.

Well, apparently the RIAA and the labels really do believe that their mammoth share for simply marketing what others create is not enough: now they are petitioning the courts to give them an even bigger share of the profits:

"Mechanical royalties currently are out of whack with historical and international rates," RIAA executive VP and General Counsel Steven Marks said. "We hope the judges will restore the proper balance by reducing the rate and moving to a more flexible percentage rate structure so that record companies can continue to create the sound recordings that drive revenues for music publishers."