INDIVIDUAL INTERNET MUSIC FREEDOM UNDER ATTACK FROM BIG BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT

Rock stars slam disconnection plan for pirates

Asher Moses
September 7, 2009 - 2:56PM

Some of the biggest names in the music business, including Sir Elton John and Sir Paul McCartney, have slammed the record labels' plans to disconnect from the internet people who are caught repeatedly downloading music illegally.

The artists label the plans backward, illogical, expensive and "extraordinarily negative".

The movie and music industries have been pushing ISPs to implement this "three-strikes" scheme voluntarily for years but talks have stalled.

In Australia, the film industry is now suing iiNet in an attempt to have the courts force ISPs to do more to prevent illegal downloading over their networks.

Behind the scenes, the content owners have been pressuring the Government to step in and resolve the impasse through legislation.

The Government, which flagged a crackdown on unauthorised file sharing in its Digital Economy report in July, has said it will decide whether to make legislative changes "depending on the outcome of the [iiNet] case".

Now, the British Government has said it is considering giving its telco regulator, Ofcom, the power to force ISPs to disconnect illegal file sharers, sparking a torrent of debate in Britain.

In direct conflict with their record labels, a broad alliance of musicians, songwriters and producers have spoken out against the three strikes plan, in a statement obtained by The Guardian.

The statement was co-signed by the Featured Artists Coalition, the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors and the Music Producers Guild.

Together they represent a broad range of British stars including McCartney, John, Robbie Williams, Radiohead and Tom Jones.

The musicians labelled the disconnection plan illogical, "extraordinarily negative", expensive and backward looking.

"We vehemently oppose the proposals being made and suggest that the stick is now in danger of being way out of proportion to the carrot," the statement, quoted by The Guardian, read.

"The failure of 30,000 US lawsuits against consumers and the cessation of the pursuit of that policy should be demonstration enough that this is not a policy that any future-minded UK government should pursue."

The bodies urge the music industry to consider new ways of licensing and selling their music - such as through video games such as Guitar Hero - to make up for losses through file sharing.

Asked for a response, Marianna Annas, the general manager of the music industry's Australian anti-piracy arm, Music Industry Piracy Investigations, said the three-strikes scheme had been "greatly misperceived".

"It is not an aggressive policing regime which leads to an abrupt disconnection, but rather a fair means by which people engaging in illegal activity online are given a series of warnings, which may lead to eventual disconnection if their activities are not rectified," she said.

In addition to the musicians, producers and songwriters, British ISPs, academics and consumer groups also oppose the scheme.

Just as in Australia, they claim the scheme could result in a "kangaroo court" whereby innocent people are disconnected based on mere allegations of copyright infringement.

It is unclear exactly how much the music industry loses to file sharing, but a recent online survey of 2240 Australians found only 11 per cent admitted to engaging in illegal downloading "frequently".

Just 2 per cent did it exclusively, while 15 per cent did it moderately and 20 per cent rarely.

More than 62 per cent of respondents bought music from a digital store in the past year, while 72 per cent bought a CD.

Other studies have shown that people who download music illegally are far more likely to pay for songs than those who don't.

This contradicts claims by the music industry that it loses hundreds of millions of dollars a year to file sharing.

These claims are usually based on the assumption that every illegally downloaded track is a lost sale.

The British Government came out with figures claiming 7 million Britons were illegal file sharers, but this was revealed by the BBC this week to be an extrapolation from responses of just 136 people.

This story was found at: http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/rock-stars-slam-disconnection-plan-for-pirates-20090907-fdtd.html