U2

The 7 O'Clock News:
10/07/03
The great rock and roll swindle

Robbie says it's great, but Britney wouldn't dream of it. You've probably tried it at home, but now the authorities are getting seriously worried about it.

Robbing all over the world

Music piracy could just be the biggest criminal activity in the world. Can many people claim they have never taped a few of their favourite singles onto a cassette, downloaded music onto their computer, or burned a CD?

Today, one in three CDs sold worldwide are fake, an annual increase of 14% according to International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) estimates. And in their annual piracy report the IFPI say that music theft is a worldwide problem that is getting worse.

For the first time they've issued a 'top ten' of priority countries where a combination of ineffectual intellectual copyright legislation, and half-hearted policing of those laws that do exist, have helped to create a black market worth $4.6bn.

China Crisis

In China, 90% of CDs are fake, despite the country's membership of the World Trade Organisation.

Former communist countries, where the concept of intellectual property is relatively new, tend to have a thriving black market in counterfeit CDs. However, they are not the only offenders: Taiwan, Thailand and even Spain make it onto the list.

Money's too tight to mention

According to industry bigwigs this is a very bad thing. They say that copyright-based industries (including movies and books) account for roughly 5% of the European Community's Gross Domestic Product. It could be much more if it weren't for the pirates, some of whom may be involved in other illegal activites.

The message is this: don't give your money to criminal gangs, give it to record companies. Their income from CD sales goes towards investing and developing struggling new bands. Or, more recently, investing in massive advances for TV talent show winners.

And, of course, no money at all goes on private jets. Music executives are the victims here.

The end of the world as we know it?

Certainly CD sales are down in most countries. Although this could be the result of what's on offer. In the 1980s record company bosses thought that home taping would kill music.

It didn't - it encouraged people to listen to more music, and people bought records if they liked them enough. So perhaps we should blame Michael Jackson or Madonna for making records that fewer people want to buy, or the record companies for giving too much money to Mariah Carey...

OK Computer...

The music debate online...

Piracy is great, says Robbie

No it's not, says Britney

Kim (Howells not Wilde) steps in

The Corrs take on U2 over piracy

Metallica, UB40, the Osmonds and Annie Lennox are all in the charts. Can you guess the year?
UK Top 40

Originally published at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/news/7oclocknews/features/music_piracy.shtml