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Music Industry: Help Save Us, ISPs!
By Mark Evans | January 24, 2008
For the decade, the music industry has been trying - and mostly - failing to battle the scourge of piracy.
They’ve gone after the facilitators (Napster, Kazaa, etc.) and carried out a nasty legal/lawsuit strategy against their customers. But despite all the effort and money spent, the music industry has made little progress in stemming the digital tide.
So, what’s their next offensive tactic? Who can the music industry bring into the anti-piracy fold? Encouraged by moves made by the French government, the IFPI believes it’s time for the ISPs to become more pro-active in helping the music industry crack down on all those evil pirates out there.
In a press release, the IFPI proclaims: “2007 was the year ISP responsibility started to become an accepted principle. 2008 must be the year it becomes reality”.
In particular, the IFPI wants the ISPs to engage in the “systematic disconnection of infringers and the use of filtering technologies” to stop “copyright theft”, while alleging that 80% of ISP traffic comprises distribution of copyright-infringing files.
Question: Why must the ISPs become the front line policeman for the music industry, which has yet to come up with a new business model that reflects the digital reality in which they now operate? Is the music industry that desperate that they need the ISPs to help them? Or do they simply realize that lawsuits aren’t doing the job?
In terms of the ISPs, what are they going to do: monitor every single packet at a time when they’re having a difficult enough time trying to provide enough bandwidth for legitimate activity such as video streaming and downloads. At the very least, it looks like an awful lot of work an aggravation for the ISPs.
Don’t get me wrong, stealing music is wrong. But there has to be a better, more creative way to convince consumers not to download music for free. Of course, it may be that music should be free or really inexpensive while the music industry would make money in other ways - concerts, merchandise sales, etc.
For an in-depth look at the IFPI report, check out paidContent. You can download the IFPI’s full report here.
Technorati Tags: ISPs, Music, Copyright
Topics: Music |
