Music file-sharing battles continue to devolve

A couple of interesting developments in the music file-sharing wars:

- The current print issue of Wired magazine has an article about how the record companies are using a company called Big Champagne that reports on what tunes are being downloaded, how frequently, in what locales. Are they using this data to capture these inveterate music pirates? NOOOO! They're using this service as [gasp] market research to push their product! Will wonders never cease?

- Today's NY Times is reporting that SBC, the nation's second largest regional phone company, is refusing to respond to the RIAA's subpoenas asking them to name their customers.

"We are going to challenge every single one of these that they file until we are told that our position is wrong as a matter of law," James D. Ellis, general counsel for SBC, said yesterday in a telephone interview..."Clearly, there are serious legal issues here, but there are also these public policy privacy issues," Mr. Ellis said. "We have unlisted numbers in this industry, and we've got a long heritage in which we have always taken a harsh and hard rule on protecting the privacy of our customers' information."