The Good

On the one hand, the shift -- revealed Friday, initially in a story published in -- does mark the end of a troubling and generally ineffective process. RIAA's past practice of and going after individual users has raised , most of which have focused on the group's . The organization has filed numerous lawsuits that have , including one now-infamous instance in which it . The woman -- who was 83 when she passed away -- "hated computers," her children said.

Most data also suggests the lawsuits have done little to curb the online sharing of copyrighted music -- rather, the number of filesharers appears to have actually increased since RIAA started its lawsuit push in 2003. A report by the notes that music sharing is "more popular than ever, despite the widespread public awareness of lawsuits." Furthermore, the report points out, "the lawsuit campaign has not resulted in any royalties to artists."

(The vast majority of RIAA's lawsuits have resulted in minimal out-of-court settlements. The sole case that went to trial -- against a mother of six named Jammie Thomas -- saw in September. That case is still scheduled to be retried.)

The Bad