Last month we discussed the question of whether or not the RIAA’s legal strategy was a success or not. An RIAA supporter had claimed that it was clearly a success, since most of the people the RIAA sued chose to settle. We questioned that, pointing out that the bottom line of the major record labels was shrinking fast, and the rate of file sharing was increasing. At the same time, we pointed out that the record labels themselves had admitted that the lawsuits were « a money pit. » Ray Beckermann has done some digging and is pointing out just how big a money pit it really was. In looking through the RIAA’s financial statements, he notes over $17.6 million spent on big name law firms who were the key players in the lawsuit campaign. And all those settlements? In 2008, they brought in $391,000. The 2007 numbers were even worse. $21 million in legal fees, plus another $3.5 million for « investigative services » to bring in… $515,929 in settlement fees. 2006? $19 million in legal fees, $3.6 million in investigative services… $455,000 in settlements.