"We've been telling people for a long time that file sharing copyrighted music is illegal, that you are not anonymous when you do it, and that engaging in it can have real consequences," said Sherman. "And the message is beginning to be heard. More and more P2P users are realizing that there are dozens of legal ways to get music online, and they are beginning to migrate to legitimate services. We hope to encourage even the worst offenders to change their behavior, and acquire the music they want through legal means."

Over the past year, the RIAA has also worked closely with the university community to combat piracy. In recognition of the seriousness of the problem, colleges across the country are implementing new restrictions-and issuing severe warnings-to discourage the swapping of pirated music and movies over high-speed campus Internet connections.

Additional education efforts include more than four million Instant Messages sent since May directly to infringers on the Kazaa and Grokster networks warning them that they are not anonymous when they illegally offer copyrighted music on these networks and that they could face legal action if they didn't stop. The RIAA sent such a warning notice to virtually every Kazaa and Grokster user who was sued today.

"Obviously, these individuals decided to continue to offer copyrighted music illegally notwithstanding the warnings," said Sherman. "We hope that today's actions will convince doubters that we are serious about protecting our rights."

In today's first round of lawsuits, RIAA member companies filed copyright infringement claims against more than 250 individual file sharers.

The RIAA announced on June 25 that it would be gathering evidence in order to bring lawsuits in September against computer users who illegally distribute copyrighted music through such peer-to-peer file distribution networks as Kazaa and Grokster. Individuals caught distributing copyrighted files on Kazaa, Grokster, Imesh, Gnutella, and Blubster were targeted in this initial round.

Since it announced its lawsuit plans, the RIAA has been contacted by a number of illegal file sharers expressing concern over their actions and wanting to know what they could do to avoid being sued. In response, the RIAA has decided not to pursue users who step forward before being targeted for past illegal sharing of copyrighted works. Instead, those who want to start fresh will be asked to sign a declaration pledging they will delete all illegally obtained music files from their hard drives and never again digitally distribute or download music illegally. Detailed information on how to apply and qualify for this amnesty is available at the web site www.musicunited.org.

Over the past year, an unprecedented campaign by a coalition of songwriters, recording artists, music publishers, retailers, and record companies has heightened music fans' awareness of the devastating impact of illegal file sharing. A series of print and broadcast ads featuring top recording artists, as well as numerous press interviews by music industry figures, have conveyed the message that file sharing not only robs songwriters and recording artists of their livelihoods, it also undermines the future of music itself by depriving the industry of the resources it needs to find and develop new talent. In addition, it threatens the jobs of tens of thousands of less celebrated people in the music industry, from engineers and technicians to warehouse workers and record store clerks.