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THE BUSINESS OF MUSIC
www.musicweek.com
AWARDS 15
We celebrate all the winners at last week’s Music Week Awards 2012
ANALYSIS 32
The truth about Q1 airplay – including One Direction’s fallout with Capital FM
INDUSTRY CELEBRATES PIRATE BAY RULING - BUT WARNS THIS IS JUST THE START
‘About bloody time!’ T
PIRACY BY TIM INGHAM
he record industry and musicians’ groups have been left elated by news
that notorious file-sharing site The Pirate Bay is to be blocked in the UK – but have warned it is merely one victory in a huge must-win battle for the music trade. The attention of labels and
publishers is now fixated on pushing Government to finally implement anti-piracy provisions in the Digital Economy Act, and halting
Google’s prominent search listings of torrent sites. Sky, Everything Everywhere,
TalkTalk, O2 and Virgin Media were told by Mr Justice Arnold
on Monday that they must start blocking access to The Pirate Bay in the next few weeks. BT was missing from the
roll-call – but looks headed for an out-of-court agreement with the record industry. It said in a subsequent statement: “We continue to have discussions with the BPI and we hope to announce an outcome acceptable to both of us soon.” The Pirate Bay, the world’s
most notorious and popular pirate file-sharing site, responded to the case – fought by the BPI on behalf of its
members – by asking users to encourage their ISPs to appeal the ruling. Despite being ruled illegal in
the UK earlier this year, the site claimed that this week’s decision represented “censorship”. However, the trade’s leading figures were having none of it. “Musicians, like everyone
else, have the right to their own property, and to part with that only if they so choose,” Beggars boss Martin Mills told Music Week. “This upholds that basic human right. Internet censorship it is not.”
Sony Music UK CEO and Chairman Nick Gatfield: “This is an important ruling that brings us closer to real collaboration between ISPs and the creative
industries to create a thriving and legal online environment for artists and fans. The next steps are to make the blocking process quicker and easier to use – and for Google to step up to the plate and prioritise legal links in their search results.”
Universal Music UK CEO and Chairman David Joseph: “We’ve always said there is no single solution to reducing piracy. The answer has to be a
combination of new digital services, consumer education and legal action to stop the worst offenders. Blocking Pirate Bay is an important part of this, they facilitate the theft of thousands of tracks each day, undermining our ability to invest in the next generation of British talent.”
AIM Chief Executive Alison Wenham: “It’s about bloody time. The practice of presenting pirate sites as legitimate has caused much damage
to the music industry and to fans. This decision sets a huge precedent and will lead the way for legitimate sites to be given the priority they deserve on listings.”
PRS Chief Executive Robert Ashcroft: “This action is another step forward. To combat piracy a suite of measures is required, including enforcement
action such as blocking, cutting off the sources of finance to infringing sites, licensed legal alternatives as well as consumer education and signposting, such as our Traffic Lights initiative. The wider creative industries also need the full support of search engines that still rank many illegal sites above legitimate ones in search results."
Musicians Union secretary John Smith: “The individuals responsible for operating The Pirate Bay have total disregard for the rights of musicians.
It is right
that the High Court has followed other European courts and has ruled that it should be blocked in the UK.”
MPA Chief Executive Stephen Navin: “ISPs and rights holders have a shared interest in creating conditions suitable for sustaining a strong digital market for
music. This is not merely a matter of enforcement – education and flexibility of licensing are also key – but action to tackle the worst of these parasitical sites is part of the solution.”
SVP of BMG Chrysalis UK Alexi Cory-Smith: “The Pirate Bay has leeched hundreds of
millions of pounds in revenue and ultimately in investment capital from the music and entertainment industry over the past years. The important thing is that this judgement is now enforced. “This is just one step of many
which are required to put piracy on the back foot. The next step - and a two-year overdue step - must be to finally start implementing the anti- piracy provisions of the Digital Economy Act. Legislation in itself does not necessarily win hearts and minds, but it is a precondition for us to really turn the tide on this debilitating problem.”
BPI Chief Executive Geoff Taylor: “The Pirate Bay infringes copyright on a massive scale. Its operators line their
pockets by commercially exploiting music and other creative works without paying a penny to the people who created them. This is wrong; musicians, sound engineers
36
04.05.12 £5.15 PROFILE
Sony’s new head of classical and crossover, Liam Toner, on the label’s ambitions
TPB: WE’RE LEGITIMATE
THE PIRATE BAY said in a statement: “The Western countries of the
world all complaints [sic] about the censorship in Iran, China, Saudi Arabia and so on. But they are really the worst culprits themselves, having double morals in doing an even worse thing themselves. “Noone from TPB was invited to
the court case, which would be normal to do in a democracy. This is not the first time this happens [sic], it’s been the same in most countries we’re censored in. “This [case] is particularily [sic]
interesting since music released and promoted exclusively here on TPB is currently in the brittish [sic] top charts. We are simply competitors that they just managed to squeeze out of their market, in a maffiesque [sic] way... we can’t allow this shit to happen.”
‘PARASITICAL SITES MUST BE STOPPED’: UK TRADE RESPONDS TO RULING
and video editors deserve to be paid for their work like everyone else.”
MMF CEO Jon Webster: “The FAC and MMF welcome the blocking of the Pirate Party website by some UK ISPs. This is another
small step down the road towards artists receiving a fair deal from the digital music market. Other steps that could be taken are: transparency in all deals between rights holders and Digital Service Providers; digital (not analogue) compensation for artists, i.e. the abolition of artists receiving 2% (or less) royalties on digital music from contracts signed in the ‘60s; fair compensation from rights holders during the windfall of 20 extra years of copyright granted to record companies starting in 2013; abolition of release windows that fuel piracy;
the acceptance of all
parts of the recorded music industry that a new deal is required to build an artist-centric future.”
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