Wednesday 14 September 2011
Artists that agree with illegally downloading
Musicians including Robbie Williams, Annie Lennox, Billy Bragg, Blur's David Rowntree and Radiohead's Ed O'Brien said last night that the public should not be prosecuted for downloading illegal music from the internet.
The Featured Artists Coalition, which consists of 140 of Britain's biggest rock and pop stars, said at its inaugural meeting that companies such as MySpace and YouTube should be required to remunerate the artists when they use their music for advertising.
Bragg told The Independent that most of the artists had voted against supporting any move towards criminally prosecuting ordinary members of the public for illegally downloaded music.
The musicians will express their views to Lord Carter, who suggested that individuals downloading music illegally should be brought to justice.
While Lennox was not able to attend the meeting, she sent a message of support, as did Peter Gabriel, while David Gray, Fran Healy from Travis, Pink Floyd's Nick Mason and Mick Jones from The Clash turned up in support.
Bragg was speaking as a key member of the coalition, which was set up to give a collective voice to artists who want to fight for their rights in the digital world. It is pushing for a fairer deal for musicians at a time when they can use the internet to forge direct links with their fans. "What I said at the meeting was that the record industry in Britain is still going down the road of criminalising our audience for downloading illegal MP3s," he said.
"If we follow the music industry down that road, we will be doing nothing more than being part of a protectionist effort. It's like trying to put toothpaste back in the tube.
"Artists should own their own rights and they should decide when their music should be used for free, or when they should have payment."
The artists wanted to tell Lord Carter "that we want to side with the audience, the consumer".
O'Brien said it was a "defining time for the industry", adding: "A lot of the rights and revenue streams are being carved up, and we need a voice... I think all the major players want to hear what we have to say."
Legally downloading does NOT mean one sale loss. The person may not have wanted to buy it in the first place even if they cant illegally down load it! They do not counteract for each other.
Consequences of ilegally downloading
The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended by the Copyright and Trade Marks (Offences and Enforcement) Act 2002, currently protects copyrighted materials. People who distribute and download copyrighted recordings without permission face civil actions for potentially thousands of pounds of damages. Make no mistake: British copyright law is needlessly strict because it was born in an age that could not have envisaged the challenges of the internet. A recent survey of consumer rights' groups found that the UK was the least consumer-friendly of 16 countries examined in the report. There is, for example, no general "fair use" exception.
Illegal downloading can also constitute a criminal offence if the downloader distributes the material. Infringement of piracy and bootlegging laws can lead to hefty fines and even imprisonment if someone is caught making copies for the purpose of selling or hiring them to others.
The penalties for copyright offences depend on seriousness, but at the higher end of the scale it can lead to an appearance before a magistrate where the sanction for distributing unauthorised files is a fine of up to £5,000 or six months' imprisonment. The worst cases may be sent to the Crown Court, which has the power to impose an unlimited fine and up to 10 years' imprisonment.
Those downloaders who can show that all their music and films copied from the internet are only for personal use will escape the full weight of the criminal law. But that does not mean personal use downloading is legal. Taking a song or film without paying for it is a breach of copyright. The real issue here is detection and the steps the industries are taking to enforce their members' rights.Illegal downloading
Illegal downloading is on the rise!
7.7 million people have downloaded music this year (2010)
1.2 billion tracks were pirated or shared, costing the industry 219 million pound.
people who distribute and download copyrighted recordings without permission face civil actions for potentially thousands of pounds of damage..... 5000 pound or 6 months in prison.
If the downloader distributes the material a criminal record is given.
In america they have put fake tracks on filesharing websites to track IP addresses.
COURT CASES. 2006
7.7 million people have downloaded music this year (2010)
1.2 billion tracks were pirated or shared, costing the industry 219 million pound.
people who distribute and download copyrighted recordings without permission face civil actions for potentially thousands of pounds of damage..... 5000 pound or 6 months in prison.
If the downloader distributes the material a criminal record is given.
In america they have put fake tracks on filesharing websites to track IP addresses.
COURT CASES. 2006
High Court judges ordered two men to pay the British Phonographic Industry between £1,500 and £5,000 for making thousands of songs available online.
One of the men said he did not know he was acting illegally. The other said there was no evidence against him.
The BPI has launched 139 similar cases since October 2004, most being settled out of court for up to £6,500.
The two men, who the BPI decided not to name in publicising the cases, were accused along with three others of using peer-to-peer software to share 8,906 songs over the internet.
The cases, in which both men were ordered to stop sharing files illegally, were the first of their kind to be heard in the British courts.
Illegal downloading here to stay
llegal music download sites will never be eradicated, the president of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has admitted.
Cary Sherman told BBC News Online that music would always be available for free somewhere on the net despite costly court battles to shut down illegal music sites.
He said the aim was to bring the proliferation of sites under control so that business were free to continue to make money.
"Our aim is not to completely eliminate music piracy or illegal peer-to-peer services altogether, " said Mr Sherman.
"As long as it is within a reasonable amount of control then we will be happy but we are still a long way from that."
Mark Mulligan, an analyst with Jupiter Research, agreed that the music industry would never fully be able to eradicate illegal file sharing.
"There will always be those willing to develop alternative illegal services.
"It has got to be accepted that file sharing will always be there just as shoplifting is accepted as wastage in the retail sector."
Mr Sherman's comments come as research shows more people than ever are willing to pay for songs on the internet and the music industry starts to hope people will turn to legitimate services.
Music downloading
Sales
Top download charts because so many people are downloading now rather than the charts for CD's.
However albums are still selling well in shops due to fans that want to have the album and the feel of having an album. Also sometimes with albums the artists produce posters of themselves and letters where as on itunes the songs are the only things they get.
Technology
Anti-virus has made downloading music illegally a lot easier due to the fact that if a virus is detected the anti-virus sorts it out allowing the people to still download music.
Itunes is the in thing now since april the 28 2003, we use to have walkmans and cassetes but itune is alot easier, quicker and cheaper. We all have mp3 players and ipod now which are the new walkmans and cassetes.
The sales of blank CD's have been estimated to stop in the next few years due to there being a decrease in sales of them.
You tube is the new way to get see the music you like, if there is a song on you tube, people in this generation no longer walk to the shops to see if its on a CD, they type it into itunes where they can buy a song for roughly one pound nineteen. People are always looking for something for nothing. If not they also download music illegally using sites such as Lime wire, Frostwire, Youtube converter and 4shared. For the younger generation of today search engines and website like these are a lot easier to get onto and to use.
Top download charts because so many people are downloading now rather than the charts for CD's.
However albums are still selling well in shops due to fans that want to have the album and the feel of having an album. Also sometimes with albums the artists produce posters of themselves and letters where as on itunes the songs are the only things they get.
Technology
Anti-virus has made downloading music illegally a lot easier due to the fact that if a virus is detected the anti-virus sorts it out allowing the people to still download music.
Itunes is the in thing now since april the 28 2003, we use to have walkmans and cassetes but itune is alot easier, quicker and cheaper. We all have mp3 players and ipod now which are the new walkmans and cassetes.
The sales of blank CD's have been estimated to stop in the next few years due to there being a decrease in sales of them.
You tube is the new way to get see the music you like, if there is a song on you tube, people in this generation no longer walk to the shops to see if its on a CD, they type it into itunes where they can buy a song for roughly one pound nineteen. People are always looking for something for nothing. If not they also download music illegally using sites such as Lime wire, Frostwire, Youtube converter and 4shared. For the younger generation of today search engines and website like these are a lot easier to get onto and to use.
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