If digital sales have leveled off, as many believe they have, it might not be because of piracy but instead because consumers have increasingly embraced free, legal music-streaming services like Imeem, MySpace and Pandora.

Teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 bought 19% less music last year, but 52% of them listened to online radio, up from 34% in 2007, and 46% used social networking sites to download or stream music, up from 26% in 2007, according to a survey by NPD Group. (Downloads from peer-to-peer networks fell 6% in 2008.)

The record industry's still getting money for these streams, just not as much as they get from downloads, but those little mechanical and performance royalties add up, particularly for the Web sites that have to pay them, which are having their own financial troubles.