25 Mar 2004 15:39
UK music industry takes aim at Net song swappers
By Bernhard Warner, European Internet Correspondent
LONDON (Reuters) - The British music industry announced on Thursday it will begin issuing legal warnings to the nation's most prolific online song-swappers, its strongest declaration yet that lawsuits are on the way.
The music industry blames Internet file-sharing services such as Kazaa and WinMX for creating a massive black market of free songs that is contributing to plunging global CD sales.
"The message we want to put out today is that file-sharers are on notice that if they continue with their activities they risk court action," said industry trade group the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
"Serial uploaders are flouting the law and they are damaging British music and the British music industry," BPI Chairman Peter Jamieson in a statement.
The BPI has begun sending instant message warnings directly to British Kazaa users whenever they log onto the service and start sharing files with others.
The group developed "bot" technology that pinpoints the country of origin through a uniquely assigned Internet protocol, or IP, number, the BPI said.
FOLLOWING IN CONTROVERSIAL FOOTSTEPS
The BPI first indicated in January that it intended to follow in the controversial footsteps of the United States with a legal crackdown of its own.
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), on behalf of the world's largest record labels, has sued hundreds of U.S. music fans since September for sharing their song collection over the Internet.
Britain's music market, the third-largest after the U.S. and Japan, is showing signs of a comeback. It reported a 2.1 percent rise in 2003 album sales, a boost mainly due to declining CD prices.
But online piracy levels are on the rise across Europe.
The BPI said on Thursday there were eight million music downloaders in Britain, 92 percent of whom are using file-sharing services to get free music. Its research said downloaders' spending on albums was down 32 percent and down 59 percent for singles.
The U.S. crackdown has had mixed results in minimising online piracy. Industry figures showed use of file-sharing services tailed off shortly after the RIAA started its lawsuits but have recently perked up again.
Mindful of the bad press lawsuits drew in the United States, European music industry officials have taken a more cautious line. They have embarked on consumer education campaigns and have worked to develop industry-backed music download services.
But talk of a tougher legal clampdown among European music executives is gathering pace.
Stung by its first year of declining sales, France said it is considering legal action too. Herve Rony, general manager of French industry group SNEP, told Reuters in January that lawsuits against the most prolific song traders were inevitable.
The BPI did not give a time frame for when it would consider lawsuits, saying instead it hoped the warnings would act as an effective deterrent.
The trade group has in the past singled out so-called "uploaders", or those who choose to put their music collection online for others to copy, as the biggest copyright infringers.
UK music industry takes aim at Net song swappers
By Bernhard Warner, European Internet Correspondent
LONDON (Reuters) - The British music industry announced on Thursday it will begin issuing legal warnings to the nation's most prolific online song-swappers, its strongest declaration yet that lawsuits are on the way.
The music industry blames Internet file-sharing services such as Kazaa and WinMX for creating a massive black market of free songs that is contributing to plunging global CD sales.
"The message we want to put out today is that file-sharers are on notice that if they continue with their activities they risk court action," said industry trade group the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
"Serial uploaders are flouting the law and they are damaging British music and the British music industry," BPI Chairman Peter Jamieson in a statement.
The BPI has begun sending instant message warnings directly to British Kazaa users whenever they log onto the service and start sharing files with others.
The group developed "bot" technology that pinpoints the country of origin through a uniquely assigned Internet protocol, or IP, number, the BPI said.
FOLLOWING IN CONTROVERSIAL FOOTSTEPS
The BPI first indicated in January that it intended to follow in the controversial footsteps of the United States with a legal crackdown of its own.
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), on behalf of the world's largest record labels, has sued hundreds of U.S. music fans since September for sharing their song collection over the Internet.
Britain's music market, the third-largest after the U.S. and Japan, is showing signs of a comeback. It reported a 2.1 percent rise in 2003 album sales, a boost mainly due to declining CD prices.
But online piracy levels are on the rise across Europe.
The BPI said on Thursday there were eight million music downloaders in Britain, 92 percent of whom are using file-sharing services to get free music. Its research said downloaders' spending on albums was down 32 percent and down 59 percent for singles.
The U.S. crackdown has had mixed results in minimising online piracy. Industry figures showed use of file-sharing services tailed off shortly after the RIAA started its lawsuits but have recently perked up again.
Mindful of the bad press lawsuits drew in the United States, European music industry officials have taken a more cautious line. They have embarked on consumer education campaigns and have worked to develop industry-backed music download services.
But talk of a tougher legal clampdown among European music executives is gathering pace.
Stung by its first year of declining sales, France said it is considering legal action too. Herve Rony, general manager of French industry group SNEP, told Reuters in January that lawsuits against the most prolific song traders were inevitable.
The BPI did not give a time frame for when it would consider lawsuits, saying instead it hoped the warnings would act as an effective deterrent.
The trade group has in the past singled out so-called "uploaders", or those who choose to put their music collection online for others to copy, as the biggest copyright infringers.