Over the past few months, the Chinese Ministry of Culture has identified 185 sites that infringe on copyrights, adding that the sites violate regulations and do not have licenses to distribute music.
Since April, 23 of those sites have shut down, and the Ministry is still actively investigating the others.
The IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) has applauded the recent actions:
“It is good news that the authorities are taking action against some infringing websites, but there are many more illegal music services that continue to operate with impunity,” says Leong Mayseey, IFPI regional director for Asia, (via Billboard).
“Only 23 of the original 185 websites identified by the Ministry of Culture have been taken down and it is not clear what penalties, if any, their operators face. If China wants its creative sector to punch its weight globally, it must do more to create a widespread climate of respect for intellectual property.”
Continuing, the director says: “We hope to see the authorities following this welcome development with further action against services that illegally build their businesses by abusing other people’s rights.”
Result for: phonographic
According to a new report from the IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry), about 3 million Swedes download unauthorized music, games and movies, about one third of the entire Swedish population.
Some believe the numbers are actually skewed, however, to the low side.
“I have about 250 students per year of whom hardly any have not file shared,” says Kristoffer Schollin, a scientist with a doctorate in intellectual property law. “It’s at 100 percent.”
Internet speeds in Sweden are ranked third highest in the world, on average, at about 12.8 Mbps. The US averages around 5.1 Mbps.
Despite the seemingly high number, the IFPI says the numbers are in a downtrend, following government intervention.
“Six out of 10 (users of file sharing sites) have stopped completely, or at least significantly lowered their use of illegal file sharing after the new legislation,”IFPI Sweden chairman Ludvig Werner added.
The report was based on a study of “music consumption habits” of 1,006 Swedes aged 15 to 74.
Result for: phonographic
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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