Students heard an earful from a pair of officials representing the Recording Industry Association of America last night, who described everything from how antipiracy experts find students suspected of sharing music illegally to the minimum penalty for pirating a single track ($750). Those in attendance — some of whom got the rare chance to hear industry feedback to their own unscripted questions — might have left convinced that the RIAA representatives told them the whole story. They did not.

Though there ultimately is no excuse for stealing music other than to pay the lawful penalty, this does not mean that the industry always hits the mark when it accuses Internet users of breaking copyright laws. In fact, the industry cannot easily know when users download music; instead, its technicians match a file they assume someone is illegally sharing online with the offending user’s IP address. Though industry subpoenas often find guilty users, the method is ultimately imprecise. Students often move and IP addresses change even faster, especially in a network as complex as Boston University’s.

The national argument over the way this program finds violators has by no means ended. Though the RIAA representatives detailed the many court cases that have closed in the industry’s favor — as if to imply the RIAA’s methods are unassailable — they barely mentioned the one court that did not agree with their case. The First District Court declined to reveal the identities of two subpoenaed BU students March 31, citing the same imprecise methods of accusation the RIAA’s antipiracy program uses to prosecute almost all the students it goes after. Though industry attorneys will probably respond with a more detailed counterattack, the case highlights an important point: An RIAA subpoena could wrongly accuse a student. Unfortunately, students often settle their cases to avoid costly legal fees rather than contest a false accusation.

The RIAA has taken positive steps toward making music more accessible in the digital age. Several major record labels recently signed an agreement with MySpace Music to create a new joint venture that distributes music through several different media – the site will reportedly offer both music tracks for a fee as well as radio and promotional material for free. As these labels have savvily recognized, adapting their business models to consumers who demand music tailored to their habits will do as much to eat away at Internet piracy as these highly-publicized lawsuits.

At some point, however, the industry will need to refine its antipiracy program so the accused do not suffer for the crimes of millions of their peers, who download music with impunity. As an industry executive admitted last night, the RIAA’s antipiracy program loses money. Recording companies may eventually gain back the funds they lost on costly litigation, but for now, scapegoating a few students is a lose-lose proposition.