Is the RIAA protecting anyone but themselves?

TechDirt notes that there are an increasing number of artists who are embracing the web - and not buying into the RIAA's chicken little rhetoric. Which begs the question: other than the labels, who exactly is the RIAA helping? If the artists are starting to wonder, then the rest of us should as well.

My cousin is a part time musician, and he's got nothing but contempt for the RIAA and its actions. None of it is helping him or the band he's part of.