The music industry finally seems to have taken the stupid hat off, and recognized that the digital genie can't be put back in the bottle. Wired reports on a meeting Universal's CEO had recently:

For the past several minutes, Morris has been listening to Rio Caraeff, executive VP in charge of the company's digital strategy, tell me how the sagging fortunes of the music industry highlight the need to diversify revenue streams. Caraeff explains that the company will eventually need to transition from running a product-based business to running a service-based one. He talks about ringtones, subscription services, and deals with mobile providers, stressing the need to raise the industry's "digital IQ."

Now, imagine if - instead of spending the last 8 years suing their customers and creating a vast well of negative PR, they had been doing what Caraeff now says they need to do? How much better off would they be had they gotten in front of the digital era, instead of standing on the tracks, expecting to stop the train?