There’s money to be made, they are just refusing to supply it. For example, there’s no Spanish store (AFAIK) with an Amazon-style selection and convenience for digital content. However, the record labels won’t allow Amazon to sell to Spanish customers. So, where do Spanish residents go for their digital music? The only choice they have left – P2P.

Most areas don’t have actual record shops, leaving the only choice to be large cities or department stores (mostly a single chain called El Corte Ingles, average album price is €20+, or over $30 US). Meanwhile, the Chinese and African touts who roam the tourist bars with knockoff designer goods and pirated CDs and DVDs are still doing a roaring trade here – where I live, there’s literally nowhere for 10 miles where you can buy the real thing and nobody’s allowed to download a paid copy!

They need to stop doing this – on the one hand complaining about “piracy” while on the other making life as difficult for legal purchasers as possible. I can understand the lack of physical outlets, but not allowing stores based elsewhere in the EU to trade freely with other parts? They get what they deserve by blocking free trade like that.

Yeah, I know, it’s down to licensing agreements and all that. But, I have no sympathy. If they had spent the last decade updating their licensing tactics and streamlining their business model for the online world instead of trying to block progress and sue customers, they would not have these problems. yeah, “piracy” would still occur – as it has throughout the RIAA’s history – but they wouldn’t be seeing the losses they are now.