Is it true that music sales are down? Good. Are illegal internet downloads the reason? Probably, although there's some reason to believe that a lot of the music lifted off of P2P networks is either stuff that a person would never have bought in the first place if it hadn't been free, or makes for an introduction to little-known bands that can lead to ticket and merchandise sales later on.
The reason I don't care if file-swapping is cutting into record sales is the fact that most music these days is absolute fucking garbage. Labels that profit from and support the aural decay of degenerate black hoodlums who grunt and mumble about killin' bitches and hos and tappin' that ass and other such moogabble-jibble deserve to lose money on the deal. Both parties, as well as the shitlings who buy their product, are contributing to the decline of Western Civilization.