Former EMI Chief Says it’s ‘Useless’ to Fight P2P

Per-Eirik Johansen says it’s the music industry’s fault that it’s business model doesn’t fit anymore, and that nobody has ever won a fight against new technology.

For years we’ve listened to one record exec after another say to the world that file-sharing is killing the music industry and thus is must fight it until the very end, if only to prevent the industry from collapsing, even though that has been proved time and again to be completely false. It’s been 10 years since they sued Napster and not only is the music industry still around, but so is illegal file-sharing.

So it begs the question of whether the record execs leading these record labels actually believe in the policy or are they just toeing the party line?

Former EMI boss Per-Eirik Johansen has thankfully given his opinion on illegal file-sharing to Norway’s Dagbladet (GOOGLE TRANSLATION). Johansen, a former supporter of DRM, used to claim that these copy protection measures were necessary and the fight against pirates was crucial. Now, after leaving his post at EMI, his stance seems to have changed dramatically. While not supporting piracy, Johansen says that now a “whole generation” is violating copyrights, and that the answer is to find better solutions rather than to fight against P2P and other distribution methods.

"As long as I received my salary from EMI, I felt it as my job to and to defend the things I really do not believe," Johansen said. " The other job I did for the company and the artists were so successful that it was okay."

Johansen makes the interesting assertion that the music industry as a whole has not fallen in value, only that it’s markets have shifted to other areas, i.e. from CDs to ringtones and MP3s, and that it’s old business model doesn’t fit anymore.

"The record industry has failed to move for the market is, it did nothing for too long, and their models do not fit anymore," he said. "There is no one who has won a fight against new technology."

Exactly. The RIAA seems to think a successful strategy is to try and mold the Internet to suit its own needs rather than vice versa. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell you which strategy would actually be successful.

Concerning the future of the recording industry, he said the future still looks promising, that the recording industry is only suffering from their own inaction and inability to adapt their business model to the changing times.

"I am extremely optimistic," he said. "There has been a revolution, and in the wake of this, it is very chaotic. Today there is an entrepreneurial spirit that is both healthy and exciting. We do not know how the industry will look for a year or about two years, but I am convinced that the future looks promising."

If only he had been allowed to be this forward thinking at EMI.

[Hat Tip]

jared@zeropaid.com

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