File sharing crackdown divides music industry

Valerie | 16 Sep 2009, 15:50

The reaction to government proposals laid out last month to clamp down on unlawful filesharing has highlighted some disagreement within the music industry, with musicians such as Billy Bragg and Annie Lennox pitted against record labels and the Musicians’ Union.

According to the Observer, a coalition of artists including Lennox, Bragg and Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason argue such laws would alienate their audience and risk criminalising music fans. The Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) also argues that the planned crackdown fails to recognise “evidence that repeat file- sharers of music are also repeat purchasers of music”.

This week, music managers behind artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Pink Floyd have publicly voiced their opposition to the FAC position. Paul Loasby, whose clients include David Gilmour and Jools Holland, argued that it will lead to “complete destruction” of new artists’ careers, whilst Colin Lester, manager for artists such as the Arctic Monkeys called the comments of the FAC “outrageous”, citing it was easy for established, high-earning artists to take this view and that the big stars are neglecting the low-earning session musicians and lesser-known bands. Lily Allen also took a stand against internet piracy in a blog post in which she criticized established acts such as Radiohead for opposing the government plans.

Writing on her MySpace page, she said:

“It probably is fine for them. They do sell-out arena tours and have the biggest Ferrari collections in the world. For new talent though, file sharing is a disaster as it’s making it harder and harder for new acts to emerge.”

Writing in the Times, Abba’s Björn Ulvaeus asks how songwriters and artists of the future will be able to support their creativity in the “era of free”:

“It must be possible to design a modern copyright environment that works with the internet without demanding surveillance that eats away at integrity. The UK Government is trying to address the problem and deserves support for having the courage to do so. We have to find a way of funding our future and not pretend that new revenue models are magically going to rescue us as the world of recorded music is destroyed by piracy.”

With the government deadline for comments in its illegal filesharing consultation approaching, industry pressure continues to mount, as illustrated by the latest news that indie trade body Pact and broadcasting union Bectu are backing a campaign to clamp down on illegal peer-to-peer file sharing on the internet.

Equity general secretary Christine Payne said:

“The fact that so many jobs are under threat is seriously alarming. There has never been a more critical time to take bold action against those who are threatening the livelihoods of everyone working in the entertainment sector.”