Browse by topic

News

EMI threatens IFPI - reorganize or we quit!

12 January 2008 2:08 by Rich "vurbal" Fiscus | 2 comments

Last year, after being purchased by equity firm Terra Firma, EMI started looking at exactly what the trade organizations they help fund with membership fees were doing to earn their money. We reported in November of last year that the answer was apparently "not enough," and the company was considering backing out of the RIAA because they didn't feel that they were getting their money's worth. Based on a recent article in Variety, things are a little more complicated than that.

While many people, both in the U.S. and internationally, are familiar with the RIAA, most notably for being behind the American campaign of lawsuits against P2P file sharers who offer copyrighted songs for download. But once you leave the U.S. the RIAA has relatively little pull, and not much standing as a lobbying organization. For this reason the four major labels also belong to a number of other trade groups, most notably the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).

Rather than simply backing out of the RIAA (and other industry groups) as sources had indicated last year, it appears the company is actually doing something significantly more calculated. According to Variety, EMI sent a letter to IFPI officials stating their intention to end their association with the organization unless they bring their own interests and goals into alignment with EMI's.

Reportedly tje company's real goal isn't so much to cut off any particular organization, but rather to merge them into a single entity responsible for fullfilling the goals of labels, including anti-piracy action and lobbying. An anonymous source told Variety �This is not a case of just saying bye-bye (to trade orgs). In some countries, the trade bodies are also collection agencies.�

The letter reportedy indicates that EMI plans to terminate membership on March 31 of this year if they don't have a proposal ready by that date detailing their plans to re-organize.

Source: Variety

Permalink to this article

RIAA representative forecasts a comeback for DRM (8 May 2008)

Australia falling in line with music industry talking points (19 February 2008)

Xunlei loses piracy suit in China (3 February 2008)

U2's manager: time to end ISPs' free ride (30 January 2008)

Global music sales fell 10 percent in 2007 (24 January 2008)

EU culture committee finalizes recommendation to Parliament without IFPI changes (23 January 2008)

RIAA beaten in court by Tanya Andersen yet again (17 January 2008)

EMI loses case to Usenet provider (15 January 2008)

EFF targets RIAA's 'making available' claims (14 January 2008)

50 Chinese sites remove piracy links (13 January 2008)

IFPI wants ISPs to filter P2P traffic (26 December 2007)

EMI looking to cut back on RIAA funding (28 November 2007)

Recording Industry calls on EU to tackle Chinese piracy (15 November 2007)

Warner Music CEO believes DRM was a mistake (15 November 2007)

Radiohead download revenue hotly debated (12 November 2007)

'Operation Counterfeit' targets Russian pirates (10 November 2007)

The Pirate Bay now owns IFPI.com (12 October 2007)

IFPI statement on U.S. file sharing verdict (5 October 2007)

IFPI shuts down six eDonkey servers (19 September 2007)

« Previous news article
CES 2008: Cowon D3 adds high resolution video

Next news article »
Directors guild starts negotiations in Hollywood

Post your comment

Discuss this article!
nobrainer (Inactive) 12 January 2008 5:35
Changing the name will solve nothing and the IFPI is exactly the same companies pushing for the same goals, but global, and representing all the ++AA ect, to collect royalties on behalf of big media, lobby tighter laws, and sue college kids, grandparents and ppl on social security, ect out of house and home, oh, and i nearly forgot, help the studios fix prices for media globally, then enforce regional sales! The IFPI is kinda like 1 ring to control them all. The Music Industry�s Last Stand Will Be A Music Tax *Originally posted by above hyperlink:* It is becoming more and more difficult for the music industry to ignore the basic economics of the their industry: unenforceable property rights (you can�t sue everyone) and zero marginal production costs (file sharing is ridiculously easy). All the big labels have now given up on DRM. They haven�t yet given up on trying to charge for their music, but it�s becoming more and more clear that as long as there is a free alternative (file sharing), the price of music will have to fall towards free. The gatekeepers of media are going down, so long big media, and thanks for all the fish, you monopoly on distribution is at an end! Virtual Artists, Inc: writers and geeks team up to bypass the studios. *Originally posted by hyperlink:* Hollywood writers and Silicon Valley geeks are teaming up to create startups like Virtual Artists modelled on the original United Artists, in which artists own and operate the studio: Some writers are now taking matters into their own hands, using their downtime to meet with venture backers, other writers and technologists. "We should show the studios some gratitude for getting us together," said "Rain Man" coauthor Ron Bass, a member of the WGA's negotiating committee and an investor and director of Virtual Artists. "This is not just an Internet play, but the beginning of what the future is going to look like." The BPI Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI. The RIAA Soundexchange Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI. The MPAA Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, DISNEY, PARAMOUNT, FOX. [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 12 January 2008 6:01
borhan9 (AfterDawn Addict) 25 January 2008 17:48
The record companies should treat these organisations like if they are giving out funding submission this way then the record companies will have an idea where the money is going and how it is spend and invested. [ + quote]