I used to get so angry about the RIAA and their shenanigans, but 20 years later, I realize I got that wrong. You see, I thought "information wants to be free" and the RIAA was getting in the way of that. What I didn't realize is that "free information" was not part of the plan from any side of the fight. The file sharing apps were just there to bankrupt the old record labels so asshole techbros could buy them up for pennies on the dollar and create spotify/youtube subscriptions on the same not-free information.
The information was never going to be free, but techbro assholes took what was a great career, literally the Rockstar, and made it pay about as well as a starbucks barista position. Six million impressions buys you a sandwich. I really should have sided with the RIAA back then. They were indeed the lesser evil.