The popular bands Blur and Radiohead have teamed up to fight the British government’s plan to begin “three strikes” laws against Internet pirates, one that has pirates kicked off the Internet for downloading unauthorized music three times.
The FAC (Featured Artists Coalition), will represent the “best interests” of the recording artists, and believes that file sharing in fact is better for the artist, as it encourages concert ticket sales and merchandising. The FAC does conceit that file sharing hurts record sales however.
The Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien adds: “My generation grew up with the point of view that you pay for your music. Every generation has a different method.
“File sharing is like a sampler, like taping your mate’s music. You go, ‘I like that, I’ll go and buy the album’. Or, ‘you know what, I’ll go and see them live’. What’s going on is a huge paradigm shift.”
Blur drummer Dave Rowntree also added: “The fact that file sharing goes on, and is as popular as it is, is an incredibly positive thing for the music industry. The fact is that music is so popular that people are willing to break the law to get it.”
All the bands in the group add that file sharing is bringing their music to new generations of fans, those that did not grow up with a radio, and instead grew up with the Internet.
Says Nick Mason, drummer with Pink Floyd: “The last thing we want to be doing is going to war with our fan base. File sharing means a new generation of fans for us.”
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Result for: featured artists
This morning 60 of Britain’s largest pop stars announced they are forming the Featured Artists’ Coalition , a group that will seek out greater control of the artists’ music in the digital age.
Robbie Williams, Radiohead, the Verve and Kaiser Chiefs are just some of the members included in the Featured Artists’ Coalition.
In a claim that many artists have been making for years, the group says it wants the artists to actually retain control over their music instead of the record labels having those rights. The group claims that artists are usually left out of the cut when their songs are distributed digitally, whether it be online or through mobile services.
“It is time for artists to have a strong collective voice to stand up for their interests,” said Brian Message, co-manager of Radiohead and the singer Kate Nash. “The digital landscape is changing fast and new deals are being struck all the time, but all too often without reference to the people who actually make the music.”
Jazz Summers, manager of The Verve, added that the group would “seek to improve the treatment of artists within the business and campaign to update laws and practices that better reflect the new music landscape.”
“Digital technology gives artists the opportunity to control their future — this is the time to seize that opportunity.”
