James Delahunty
22 Sep 2004 7:10
At the Interactive In The City conference being held in Manchester, technology journalist and author Andrew Orlowski told the music industry that music piracy should be decriminalized and that methods being used to stop it are doomed. Orlowski believes that the recording industry should embrace file-sharing instead of fighting it. He believes the recording industry should look for novel ways to generate cash for new artists. One proposal put forward is a small fee on top of an Internet subscription that could be shared equally amongst artists whose music is shared online by music lovers.
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry claim to be pro-technology but against music stealing. A spokesperson said, "We think it is clear that the music industry's strategies on the internet are working, and there is a great deal more good news about the legitimate online music business than there was even a year ago, we believe that what he is proposing is a prescription for less music not more". This is hardly surprising as such a proposal may lead to less revenues for major record labels who still like to claim they are the entire music industry and without them music would not exist. According to Orlowski, technological advances will make it close to impossible to police downloading in the future, making the current tactics of the recording industry futile.
He referred to the sudden burst of new ways we might be able to use P2P networks in the near future, like Nokia's attempt at making a mobile phone that could use a P2P network to share content. He called these new technologies "peer-to-peer in your pocket". He also pointed out that new technologies to swap and share music will outwit current copy control technologies like DRM (Digital Rights Management). If the future goes to P2P being available on such small devices as mobile phones, it seems that legal online music stores such as Napster and iTunes could have only a limited life left.
Source:
BBC News