Says it’s a “myth that artists can build long-term careers on live music alone.”
Paul McGuiness, band manager for Irish-rock band U2 for well over 30 years, has taken another swing at file-sharers, this time with his praise for France’s recent passage of a “three-strikes” law, and with his hope that “the rest of the world may follow” in its footsteps.
In a post on the UK’s Guardian, he says the “crisis in our music community is real” and that the French govt, by recently passing the controversial “Creation and Internet Law” which establishes a formal system, the HADOPI, for sanctioning repeat file-sharers.
“By proposing the creation and internet law, the French government is protecting artists’ rights as well as those of internet users,” he writes.
Why he thinks the law protects the rights of Internet users by giving corporations control over the Internet pipe into your house is beyond me.
He then goes on to say that the copyright debate is an important one that he thinks will “shape the lives and the working conditions of creative professionals for years, even decades, to come.”
That’s because artists and record label execs have much more terrible working conditions of late compared to the thousands of unemployed autoworkers, teachers, and construction workers.
McGuiness hopes that France’s new “three-strikes” law will also lead to a worldwide copyright law revolution, that the “rest of the world may follow.”
He cites several reasons why the law is justified:
First, the crisis in our music community is real. A generation of artists, all over France, and further afield, are seeing their livelihoods destroyed, their career ambitions stolen. Investment that should help them build careers is draining out of the industry. This isn’t just a shift in the business model from recorded to live music. It’s a catastrophe for all the business models, old and new. It is a myth that artists can build long-term careers on live music alone. U2 will this year fill huge stadiums around the world, including two shows at Stade de France at a capacity of 93,000. That is because they have had parallel careers as recording artists and live performers since their inception 30 years ago.
Here’s where the faults in his argument again appear. Contrary to his assertion, bands like The Grateful Dead have certainly built a long-term career on live music. I suppose it’s what your definition of long-term is. Good music will always have an audience and good bands will always have fans. It’s that simple.
He also goes on to falsely claim that “95% of music downloads see no reward going to the creator.” There is no data to support this and it rehashes the same tired argument that one illegal download equals one lost sale. It’s simply not true, and studies, including a Canadian-govt funded one I might add, have shown that illegal file-sharing actually encourages overall music consumption.
McGuiness, if you recall, is the same guy who has made his anti-file-sharing stance well known over the years.
First it was when he lambasted the “internet freethinking culture of California and Silicon Valley” and its “liberal hippy values” for being part of the “problem of paying for music.”
A few days later he then said that Radiohead’s “In Rainbows” experiment with a pay what you want album download “backfired.”
jared@zeropaid.com
Related
- U2 Band Manager: ‘Ban Music Pirates from the Internet’
- U2 Band Manager: ISPs, Music Industry Should Forge ‘Commercial Partnerships’
- Band Praises P2P for Helping Artists “Discover Music”
- U2 Band Manager: Radiohead’s ‘In Rainbows’ Experiment ‘Backfired’
- France Passes “Three-Strikes” Law
No figures to back up his claim. I think “studies have shown that illegal file-sharing actually encourages overall music consumption” is probably more in line than this guy’s opinion.
If you can’t see that overall sales of music through legal avenues,CD,paid downloads etc. because of illegal file sharing, is down,especially in this economy…you really need to get your brain checked.
The idea that a struggling band (read:not Metallica,AC-DC or U2) can make it in the music industry…the way the current business model is constructed…is preposterous.
The music indusrty has themselves to blame for a large part of it,but we’re talking about some musical acts who cannot make a living thanks to all the illegal filesharing that goes on.
Anyone who has an objection to this should start working at their job for free or take a 50 to 75% pay cut in your salary..don’t take a paycheck…why should you get paid?
McGuinness point is a valid one…the way things are now established artists are in the clear but up and coming artists are screwed;start holding those ISP’s responsible…accountable,see how they like operating when they start owing billions of dollars and individuals face hard jail time.
“There is no data to support this and it rehashes the same tired argument that one illegal download equals one lost sale. It’s simply not true, and studies have shown that illegal file-sharing actually encourages overall music consumption.”
I couldn’t disagree with Paul McGuinness more, but this article would be much better if it pointed to the studies that show file sharing encourages consumption. We need the evidence at our disposal if we are going to get rid of these dinosaurs once and for all.
Its always amusing to see the huge disconnect between the overly paid band, and band manager and the realities of society. Maybe if he ate less, he would not spend all his time on his hold plated crapper, and step outside to get a sense of reality.
I don’t think you’ll actually see an inkling of reality from these guys.
I know its not right to file share because you are literally stealing but these guys ( U2 ) have so much money , Why would they care .. They should give there next tour for cost just to show fan apreciation not for the price they charge .. I mean come on 250 dollars for tickets ..
I mean really look at the tour ticket prices .. They are starting to look greedy and enough with the whole one organization.. They want the usa to forgive debts to these countries .. Are all of the countries that we are in debt to going to forgive our debt … I doubt it ….
The man in the photo with Paul McGuiness is NOT Bono.
That’s not the real Bono!
@Mike
That reminds me, he says that bands cant survive on live events alone, but tickets routinely go for 100 bucks or more a pop. Are they eating caviar for b-fast?
Let the U2 sales go down, dont buy their stuff.
Let their corporate boss buy from them alone.
McGuinness is totally out of touch. But–on another note–you guys do realize that the guy with McGuinness in that picture above is not Bono, right? Just checkin’.
@check your photos
Who is it then, your mom?
Check it out > http://tinyurl.com/c98sks
Dude, the guy in that photo is Tony Russo from the Unforgettable Fire U2 tribute band: http://www.uf2.com/band.html . That other article got it wrong, too. I’m sure Tony would be flattered though.
FUCK METALLICA !!!!!
FUCK U2 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@soulxtc
Ha you got schooled
I dont think that is Bono. Is it?
The law have been rejected by the Parliament. Yessssssssssss
and that is why Bono will always be a number 2
Paul McGuinness is a fat overbearing swine. For all of his whining about piracy, the leak of the latest U2 album to file-sharing was due to the incompetency of their own record company. How much money does this pig need? For that matter, how much more money does the band need? They charge over $200 for most of their tickets (their weak attempt to make cheaper ones available has only given scalpers a bigger profit margin). No band is worth that kind of money, period. I think someone needs to strike fat Paul three times in the face with extreme prejudice and make that greasy face even redder.
Boycott their tour, and download their album for free. For those who are keeping track, the score this decade is Pirates 3 – U2 0, and when their next album comes out later in the year, itll be Pirates 4 – U2 0. Deal with it, Paulie.
Bono! get a life! your music is garbage so is the rest of you.
Mr McGuinness, Bono, U2.. should mind their own business! Saying such craps is unbearable. I’m french and the hadopi or “3 strikes and ur out” law is a breach in internet privacy.
People are losing their jobs, some have no money, some are starving.. Dont expect me to cry about the lil less money you dont earn because u sell less CDs ! Come on a CD costs less than a buck and ur selling it $15..
Selfish, self centered greedy.. Shame on you U2, i think Bono should really stop representing causes such as the One Campaign, joinred, warchild.. that’s hypocracy : you revealed your true face so stop bullshitting presidents of nations and keep on trying to fight against internet freedom & privacy. You will lose.
And btw u are not welcome in my country, i doubt you will be in Ireland after letting your manager saying such lies.
With or Without U2 i can live !
I think they should all chill out. My god, kids were recording songs from the radio over thirty years ago, I don’t see that any band like The Stones or Elton John suffering from it back then or now. Get a grip.
That’s not Bono!! something went wrong ….
As a kid I used to hold the mike from our cassette tape recorder in front of the tinny TV speaker during Top of the Pops… and though I enjoy U2, I’ve STILL never bought one of their albums, even before file-sharing. I have a collection of about 200 CDs and I buy 3 or 4 a year at the moment.
The French Hadopi law was naive and anti-constitutional, let alone contrary to international standards of privacy, and it was naturally defeated by the upper house. The fact that it passed the lower house makes you wonder what kind of nincompoops are running the place!
The ONLY valid argument to rule against file-sharing is to enable a tax on all soft- & hardware to be paid to the poor already-mega-rich Record Companies so their execs can take early retirement.
If that’s fair, let’s have a referendum on it.
Toc Toc Toc Hello … I believe everybody is missing the point here First of all- I would like to know who would marry a girl w/o knowing what she got? Second, w/ the cheap technology that every body has worlwide (just look around to a decaying civilization), who the heck is going to have a file for more than a month or two into their PCs (they crash constantly)? CDs, flash drives, etc posses the same threat If the big corps are afraid of the dust, is because they want complete control over our lives so they came out w/ this camuflaged strategy to get into our privacy protected by law & sell more crap They also pushed for most of the actual crap like digital TV while poor kids that doesnT even have a place were to play; now have to go and possible kill to buy a CD or download a copy of the crap they’re trying to sell w/ a stolen credit card But these sharks donT get punished for creating more sound waves that worked out warming our planet bouncing back & forth until we all go to hell togheter w/ primitive lawmakers & sharks Any way, who says crime doesnT pay? Remember that the security industry is the most prosper today And whom owns it? Mafia! Haha! Imbeciles … Hello!