The RIAA has filed a $1.65 trillion (that’s right) lawsuit against Russian media download company AllofMP3.com, an outfit that claims that it operates legally under Russian statute–but which charges ridiculously low prices for music. The closest I can place their pricing is that they seem to charge 7 cents for the first minute of music, and 3 cents per minute after that.

Now, clearly, the Russian company is not selling any of this music by any agreement with the copyright holders, and I cannot vouch for the legal justification the firm uses.

All that notwithstanding, exactly what are the idiots are the RIAA thinking in suing this company for $150,000 per song, after 11 million downloads at maybe 15 cents per song? My math may not be the greatest, but it would seem that the RIAA is asking for something along the lines of a million times more than the company has so far brought in–and that’s not counting the money they’ve probably blown on salaries and office supplies and stuff like that already. And something tells me that these people are probably not trillionaires in the first place. They have already responded to the RIAA announcement, claiming that they don’t operate in New York and what they do is legal where they are.

But I can tell you one thing that the RIAA has achieved: they have made me aware of this service. And now you. Hmmm. I will have to check out the company and see if it is fly-by-night or anything–for all I know, they are mafia types and your credit card number will be used for nefarious purposes. But if they are not, and better yet, if their service does turn out to be legit and legal via convoluted international copyright and Internet laws, I am going to seriously consider buying all my music from them in the future–for no better reason than to spite the RIAA.

Greedy bastards.