BPI claims illegal music downloads are on the rise

STEADY GROWTH in record sales is not good enough for the British Phonographic Industry cartel (BPI), as it claims illegal music downloads are on the rise.

The BPI, claiming to be a "representative voice of the UK recorded music business", produced a document that not only shows online music sales topping £160 million in 2010, a rise of at least £10 million over last year, but also claims that illegal music downloading cost the industry £219 million.

Shockingly, the BPI blamed this industry crippling loss of revenue on a "lack of action against illegal downloading" by the Government. There was not a single word about high prices or the low quality of music that the industry churns out. The report handily fails to recognise the millions made by its members through television 'talent shows' that create pre-packaged hits while collecting money from telephone votes, merchandising and live shows.

The report also found that the numbers of people downloading music through peer-to-peer (P2P) networks has stagnated, however it reported growth in the use of 'dropbox' websites, used to dump files.

BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor tried to build up the case for increased Government help by saying, "The creative industries employ two million people in the UK and are the fastest growing sector of the economy. Urgent action is needed to protect those jobs and allow Britain to achieve its potential in the global digital market."

So instead of the record labels doing something to help millions of UK workers, they want Government help. This multi-billion pound industry that reported a growth in sales is asking the same Government that revealed some of the most severe public sector cuts in a lifetime for help. Don't expect any demonstrations outside coalition parties' offices any time soon, Mr Taylor.

This is assuming that the BPI's researchers present accurate data. It's hard to think how reliable data could be collected without active participation in filesharing. Even then network measurement, especially for P2P networks, is notoriously difficult and extrapolation of data is often inaccurate.

The BPI's figures mention nothing about how much artists lose from illegal music downloads. That is perhaps because the artists have never been all that well paid by the record labels in the first place.

The BPI, just like the record labels it represents, simply doesn't understand what punters want. There will always be those few that will opt to take the illegal route to acquire music. However, if the music labels would reduce prices, increase fidelity and generally not act in such a grasping manner, then the BPI might see the growth it so yearns for. µ