Wants to forge a united front on the issue of illegal file-sharing.
The UK music industry has been going through a tumultuous time following the announcement by Business Secretary Lord Mandelson that his “thinking has evolved” on the use of “further technical measures” and that “urgent action” in the form of disconnecting file-sharers from the Internet is necessary.
It led to the immediate denunciation by a number of music artists represented by the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC), the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA), and the Music Producers Guild (MPG).
The Featured Artists’ Coalition (FAC), which formed this past March to give artists an equal voice in the P2P debate, has repeatedly voiced its objection to any legislation that would criminalize file-sharing by music fans and was soon the target of UK pop singer Lily Allen for what she saw as it’s pro-file-sharing stance.
“Basically the FAC is saying ‘we’re alright, we’ve made it, so file sharing’s fine’,” she said in a MySpace celebrity blog post. which is just so unfair to new acts trying to make it in the industry.”
Nevermind that the FAC isn’t pro-P2P, but rather sensible enough to look at the efforts of the US music industry and its decade long efforts of suing music fans as an example of what not to do.
UK Music, an umbrella organization that claims to represent the “collective interests” of the music industry as though those of labels and artists are one in the same, then tried to “clarify” the position of its members so that there’s no confusion about the music industry’s support for “appropriate and proportionate powers” to fight P2P.
The FAC responded to Allen and other critics by reminding then that the group is not pro-file-sharing, but thinks that the govt should only target those that share or offer content for commercial gain.
“The focus of our objection is the proposed treatment of ordinary music fans who download a few tracks so as to check out our material before they buy,” it says. “For those of us who don’t get played on the radio or mentioned in the music media – artists established and emerging – P2P recommendation is an important form of promotion.”
Allen responded to the FAC again recently in her new blog set up specifically to publish statements from other anti-P2P artists. Note the irony here in that Allen is getting to use a blog for free to promote her and others ideas. Sort of like P2P isn’t it?
“The music industry’s not divided ,look at the letter from The Futureheads – members of the FAC , on here,” she writes. “We don’t agree on everything – SO! – we’re all creative people and are never going to agree on everything. We do all agree file-sharing’s not alright though.”
Of course they all do. Nobody’s arguing otherwise. It’s the manner of fighting P2P that marks the division. Disconnecting users from the Internet is an irrational response to the problem. You can’t legislate P2P, and even if you tried new technologies will quickly render any attempt to do so meaningless.
Why?
- There are thousands of ways you can hide your IP address.
- You can still transfer copyrighted material via e-mail or IM.
- HDD swap.
- Darknets, private P2P groups of friends and family.
- Usenet
So all you’re really doing is driving people further underground and not solving the problem at all. More importantly, your alienating your fans in the process for no real tangible benefit.
Allen, also says artists are being harmed by P2P and that new music was suffering as a result.
“Unfortunately there aren’t enough people paying, which is threatening new music,” she adds on her blog.
She’s apparently is unaware that the number of albums released since 2000, a year after Napster was born, has actually doubled
“In 2000, 35,516 albums were released,” notes the Harvard Business School study conducted by Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Koleman Strumpf. “Seven years later, 79,695 albums (including 25,159 digital albums) were published (Nielsen SoundScan, 2008). Even if file-sharing were the reason that sales have fallen, the new technology does not appear to have exacted a toll on the quantity of music produced.”
So much for Allen’s theory.
Hopefully she’ll eventually see what it for what hip hop megastar 50 Cents does, as a “part of the marketing” necessary to make up for what the record labels are no longer able to afford.
Either way, all of this division has led the FAC to cancel its previously scheduled event and hold the urgent “British Music Divied in File-Sharing Debate” instead.
It takes place tomorrow night at 7pm in London and is only open to artists.
It’ll be interesting to see what the FAC and artists like Allen have to say afterwards.
Stay tuned.
P2P has been a critical part of my success as an artist. No p2p, no success anywhere near what I’ve accomplished today – if at all.