Talk before suing and more

Today's developments in the music industry's battle against file sharers:

Washington Post: Music Industry Will Talk Before Suing

The music industry, criticized for its recent wave of lawsuits aimed at stopping song swapping on the Internet, agreed yesterday to contact future defendants before they are sued and give them a chance to pay a cash settlement or argue that they have been mistakenly accused of copyright infringement.

Wired News: Rappers in Disharmony on P2P

Recording Industry Association of America keeps a united front, but LL Cool J and Chuck D candidly shared their opposing views on file sharing and its effect on the industry. The musicians were invited to testify before the U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, which is investigating the effect of peer-to-peer file sharing on the entertainment industry.

SF Chronicle: 52 piracy suits settled

The Recording Industry Association of America said on Monday it has reached out-of-court settlements with 52 people who were sued for sharing online music illegally and 12 others who were targeted for possible legal action.

Mi2N: RIAA Finds Few Takers For Shamnesty: "The Recording Industry Association of America today announced that 838 of the 60 million Americans who file-share have accepted its "Clean Slate" offer."

Reuters: Lawsuits Damp Down P2P Audience: "Nielsen//NetRatings, which tracks Internet usage, said on Tuesday it found a 41 percent drop over the last three months in the audience for Kazaa, the leading music file-sharing service."

Yet another legit music download service will follow in the footsteps of eMusic and iTunes. Mercora will launch next month, inspired "in equal parts by iTunes, Friendster and eBay."