If You Love The RIAA, Don't Read This Article
I don't listen to a ton of independent music, so I'm probably not in the best position to bash the RIAA. I definitely think they've bought a lot of politicians and legislation in an attempt to keep music distribution a private enterprise. For the last few years, I think they've manipulated the market to create the self-fulfilling prophecy of "lower sales" that they blame on "piracy".
I regularly read Slashdot (duh, why else would they have a block here? And why does this site's layout look a lot like theirs? ;) ), and George Ziemann's plight has come up several times there. Please visit his site if you're interested in hearing the tactics the RIAA uses to quash the marketplace for independently released music.
One of my pipe dreams is to release my own CD someday. I can only hope it's legal to sell my own music when the time comes!