Pirates Adopt Web Sites To Distribute Counterfeit Music

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) reports that pirated and counterfeit music product distribution has shifted from swap meets to Web sites. The RIAA posted declines in seizures of pirated traditional CDs ñ an area on which the RIAA has focused much of its resources. The new wave in pirating is in CD-recordables, which often boast songs downloaded off the Internet. More than 155,496 pirate CDRs were seized, compared with 23,858 during the same period in 1998. The drop in seizures of cassettes and CDs also emphasize the ongoing change in how music is distributed on the Internet.