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UK bands fight controversial three-strikes law

13 September 2009 19:33 by Andre "DVDBack23" Yoskowitz | 7 comments

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."

Of course, in another clear quote that proves the labels do not understand their own consumers or even their own artists, Geoff Taylor, chief executive of the British Phonographic Industry, responded: �We could hardly have more legal download services than we already do, and they have not eliminated piracy. It is the peer-to-peer downloading that is holding back investment in more services. What Government is proposing in the temporary suspension of accounts as a last resort is a set of measures that are proportional and balanced.�

Permalink to this article

Radiohead backs bandwidth throttling as music piracy solution (5 November 2009)

Illegal downloaders stlil buying more music than most (3 November 2009)

Lawmakers join ISPs in criticism of UK 3 Strikes proposal (20 October 2009)

Brit artists debate UK Government file-sharing plans (22 September 2009)

Sony ramps up anti-piracy efforts in South-East Asia (19 September 2009)

Swedish ISP will appeal order to cut off Pirate Bay (16 September 2009)

'Three strikes' law is back in France (10 July 2009)

'Three strikes' law is unconstitutional, says French court (12 June 2009)

'Three strikes' law passes in France (12 May 2009)

French 'three strikes' bill back for Parliamentary debate (29 April 2009)

Taiwan passes 'three strikes' anti-piracy law? (29 April 2009)

French National Assembly rejects 'three strikes' legislation (9 April 2009)

'Three strikes' laws will be expensive for ISPs (6 March 2009)

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Discuss this article!
DXR88 (Senior Member) 14 September 2009 3:59
Good Fight, How ever the brits are the ones who should be fighting, its your rights that are being washed away. [ + quote]
pphoenix (Inactive) 14 September 2009 5:22
*Originally posted by DXR88:* Good Fight, How ever the brits are the ones who should be fighting, its your rights that are being washed away. there is no fight the RIAA (BPI) will get their way donations & lobbyists are just as prolific in the UK but it's just not publicised as well as it is, in the USA. RIAA, CRIA, SOUNDEXCHANGE, BPI, IFPI, Ect: # Sony BMG Music Entertainment # Warner Music Group # Universal Music Group # EMI [ + quote]
KillerBug (Senior Member) 14 September 2009 5:27
Public opinion does not meen anything. Votes are generated by the voting machines, not by the populous. If these bands actualy wanted to make a change, they would simply bribe the corrupt judges to be on their side...and make sure the bribes are larger than those from RIAA. Current System: Windows 7 RC1, DFI M2RS, ATI 3870HD, Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1600, Athlon 9950, 6GB Corsair DDR2, 3TB RAID 5, 750GB Raid-1, 500GB RAID-1, 640GB RAID-0 Boot, 3ware 9690SA, Adaptec 2610SA, Adaptec 1430SA, Intel Gigabit NIC (PCI), LG 20X Lightscribe DVDR, Coolmax 1200w Power Supply, Logitech G15(first edition), Logitech G5(Second Edition), modified dell poweredge 1800 server case. Overall configuration: Perfect chair, two 22" widescreens overhead, Logitech 5.1 Audio [ + quote]
Mez (Senior Member) 14 September 2009 8:48
It is good to see 2 bands are with their fans. I guess the rest say �piss on them�. I know Robert Plant does. I would never buy anything he did ever again. He showed his true colors when he wouldn�t tour with Led Zeppelin. Bribes mean more unless they think their meal ticket is in the balance. Another reason the labels hate file share is black listed artists and other Indies can still get some visability. One of the finest bands in the US is black listed in the US and UK. No one has heard of this award winning band in these countries because they are bannd from the radio and internet stations. If you like New Age music, Blackmores's Night is Renascence music with a dash of hard rock thrown in. I do not know anyone that as heard them and have not been favorably impressed. The guitar is as good as it gets and is the main attention getter. My first thought when I hear the music is WHO IS the guitarist. Blackmore goes from a classical guitar format to hard rock with his Stratocaster. Rolling Stone rates him as the 50th best guitarist ever. He is more like 3rd, 5th at the very worst. He is just doing his own thing for the last 10 years. It is by far the best music he has done in his 40 years of music. He was the lead guitar for the Outlaws then Deep Purple. He broke from DP to do a heavier, faster music. He is accredited as the father of both Heavy Metal and Dragon Metal Rock genres. [ + quote]
shaffaaf (Senior Member) 14 September 2009 12:36
lol am i the only one who read it as the british pornographic industry [ + quote]
G_Hubcap (Newbie) 14 September 2009 16:19
*Originally posted by shaffaaf:* lol am i the only one who read it as the british pornographic industry Didn't catch it until you pointed it out to me! :) [ + quote]
Coyote42 (Newbie) 17 September 2009 10:34
*Originally posted by Mez:* It is good to see 2 bands are with their fans. I guess the rest say �piss on them�. I know Robert Plant does. I would never buy anything he did ever again. He showed his true colors when he wouldn�t tour with Led Zeppelin. Bribes mean more unless they think their meal ticket is in the balance. Another reason the labels hate file share is black listed artists and other Indies can still get some visability. One of the finest bands in the US is black listed in the US and UK. No one has heard of this award winning band in these countries because they are bannd from the radio and internet stations. If you like New Age music, Blackmores's Night is Renascence music with a dash of hard rock thrown in. I do not know anyone that as heard them and have not been favorably impressed. The guitar is as good as it gets and is the main attention getter. My first thought when I hear the music is WHO IS the guitarist. Blackmore goes from a classical guitar format to hard rock with his Stratocaster. Rolling Stone rates him as the 50th best guitarist ever. He is more like 3rd, 5th at the very worst. He is just doing his own thing for the last 10 years. It is by far the best music he has done in his 40 years of music. He was the lead guitar for the Outlaws then Deep Purple. He broke from DP to do a heavier, faster music. He is accredited as the father of both Heavy Metal and Dragon Metal Rock genres. Thanks for the tip, just pulled them up on Pandora. I love it, and yes I agree I NEVER would have heard them on the radio, TV, or anywhere else that's controlled by the media. Thank goodness they are passing laws that will make it so nobody can share music, these people might actually become popular. [ + quote]