Record companies on Thursday began sending warnings by instant message (IM) to music file swappers in Australia, Canada, Denmark and Germany as part of what industry association IFPI called an "educational exercise" to remind people that downloading copyrighted music can in some circumstances be illegal.
The exercise demonstrates how commercial organisations are beginning to use instant messaging to get corporate messages across. The IFPI represents the recording industry worldwide, with more than 1,500 record company members in over 75 countries and has affiliated national associations in 46 countries. Its initiative mirrors a similar move by the Recording Industry Association of America earlier this year, which was followed with hundreds of subpoenas to file swappers across the US.
An IFPI spokesman said its IM campaign was not a prelude to mass litigation outside the US, but indicated that this could still be an option.
"We haven't ruled out any mind of litigation," said IFPI general counsel Allen Dixon. "But there has not been any announcements to bring lots of cases, and I think there is a view that awareness and education still is very much needed in these markets."
Dixon pointed out that even if litigation did follow, suing people for uploading quantities of music in Europe would not be a new thing. "Even over the past year there have been demands against users in Denmark (last December), in Germany last April, and in Italy there have been 150 users raided in the past six months, while the Swiss had a case earlier this year where users had been prosecuted criminally for uploading to Napster." But, he added, "this campaign is not about that. It is about education."
The IFPI believes there is still a need for more awareness among users of the legal issues related to file-swapping, but that the need differs according to geography. "The Canadians have a more friendly message," said Dixon, while other countries have more legalistic problems. Germans focus on security."
Although suspicions arose on one digital-music mailing list that the IFPI was using IP mapping technology to identify the location of users, Dixon said he believed the national affiliates of the IFPI were simply searching for file swappers who host music from that country and sending them an instant message using the IM facility in file-swapping applications such as Kazaa.
The text of the message sent to Canadian file swappers read:
"Warning. It appears that you are offering copyrighted music to others from your computer. While we appreciate your love of music, please be aware that sharing copyrighted music on the Internet without permission from the copyright owner is illegal. When you do so, you hurt the artists, songwriters and musicians who create the music and the other talented individuals who are involved in bringing you the music. More than 40,000 Canadians work hard producing and supporting the music you appear to enjoy, including producers, engineers, retailers, music publishers, distributors, manufacturers, record companies, concert promoters and broadcasters. When you break the law, you risk legal penalties. There is a simple way to avoid that risk: Don¹t distribute music to others on a file-sharing system like this. For further information, please go to www.cria.ca. Remember that you need music and music needs you.
The message sent to German file-swappers said that in their own interests their attention was being drawn to the fact that offering music for download on the Internet without authorization from the copyright holder breaks copyright law, which can result in demands for compensation and criminal sanctions.
When asked why the UK was not on the list of target countries, an IFPI spokeswoman said that countries with high broadband penetration and a large number of active file swappers had been targeted.
Talkback
We've opened pandoras box, and it will never be closed again. The free flow of information will continue, even if you sue every last one of us. The recording industry and the music business have been screwing consumers out of millions of dollars for 50 plus years now, this is just pay back time. Pay back for every over priced vinal record, useless magnetic tape and CD with two or three good songs you actuly like for $18.99. At prices like that no one could ever get all the music they wanted to listen to, they would have to rich or at least willing to get ripped off all the time. The artists get a raw deal anyway, at most they might see a buck or two out each CD sold, the music biz fat cats keep the lion's share. If you really like the artists then go to their concerts, that's where they make their real money or buy the CD's directly from their web sights.
i agree with anonymous. go to the concerts to support artists. cd sales only support the record monopolies. next comes the tearing down of credit card companies, banks, media empires, imperial parking, pharmaseuticals, and any other monopolies you can think of (uh microsoft?). the end of progress to self destruction is near. like harry potter's illuminated author wrote...it's not good vs. evil (in their eyes)....it's who can be the most powerfull (in a 3d physical context).
I think the following quote by Janis Ian that was written in an article named "Spanish cut-price music web site forced to close"
By Paul Mitchell
26 July 2003
says it all:
In an open letter, artist Janis Ian likens called the record industry’s set-up, with its obligatory seven albums and difficult to end contracts, “at best indentured servitude (and at worst slavery).” She continued, “everyone is forgetting the main way an artist becomes successful—exposure. Without exposure, no one comes to shows, no one buys CDs, no one enables you to earn a living doing what you love. Again, from personal experience: in 37 years as a recording artist, I’ve created 25-plus albums for major labels, and I’ve never once received a royalty check that didn’t show I owed them money. So I make the bulk of my living from live touring, playing for 80-1,500 people a night, doing my own show.... Who gets hurt by free downloads? Save a handful of super-successes like Celine Dion, none of us. We only get helped.”
I'm interested to know how long is it going for them to get hacked?
The only people hurting the record industry are the record industry themselves. Increasingly all they are interested in is pumping the latest new band for the latest generation to cling on to. The cheapest way to do this is the over produced talentless designer band, and don't let any band continue to be successfull. Established bands can demand a greater cut of the profits.
I have a friend in a major recent UK indie rock group. They released three very successful platinum selling albums. When it came to the fourth equally well reviewed album the record company withdrew nearly all of the touring support and refused to even release enough of the singles to allow the songs to enter the charts.
The RIAA don't give a f**k about the artists. They are concentrating on the single most profitable teen market and forgetting about the other bread and butter markets. That's why their sales are down.
Im afraid its mob justice for ripping of the british public with s-club 7 pop idol etc or the blatent child exploitation with s-club juniors, if the recording industry doesnt buck their ideas up things will get worse for them, much worse