The music industry turns on the RIAA

I've been too busy with work and life to blog much lately - not that there's any shortage of interesting topics. But I couldn't let this one go by without noticing it.

The Canadian artist management company Nettwerk, which represents punk-pop star Avril Lavigne, among many other Canadian artists, is paying all of the legal fees of the family of a 15 year old being sued by the RIAA for downloading music including Avril's tune "Sk8er Boi".

Nettwerk CEO Terry McBride says "Suing music fans is not the solution, it's the problem", and goes on to say "Litigation is not 'artist development.' Litigation is a deterrent to creativity and passion and it is hurting the business I love," insists McBride. "The current actions of the RIAA are not in my artists' best interests."

Those Canadians are sure spunky, aren't they? And sensible too.

The complete press release is here.