Alan Wexelblat @ Blogbook asks whether calling the recording industry a "cartel" is no longer a slur but instead simply accurate:

Continuing to call the music industry a "business" is to fly in the face of reality. They've already been convicted of collusion and price-fixing (has anyone gotten their settlement check yet? I haven't) and now they're accused of blacklisting. These are the classic actions of a cartel (drugs, crime, oil) that seeks to retain its stranglehold on its chosen domain. [...]

In order for the Cartel to continue to maintain that the P2P nets are illegitimate, they have to prevent those networks/companies from having any arrangements with legitimate companies. It's a lovely Catch-22 you see - since we won't let you have our music legally, any music on your net must ipso facto be illegitimate. Roll out the next round of lawsuits, boys!