Quotes

Recording Industry

Osamu Sato, Chairman & CEO of RIAJ, Japan

"Illegal music file-sharing collapses the music creation cycle and has the potential to damage cultural output worldwide. We are convinced that the united efforts of the international music industry against individuals' illegal file-sharing on an frontier without border have had a deterrent effect and stimulated the improvement of legitimate digital music business. In Japan, 95% of internet users recognise the illegality of file-sharing music, and the mobile market, especially ringtunes, is showing rapid growth alongside the legitimate online music services."

Paul Solleveld, Managing Director of NVPI, The Netherlands:

"People have to understand the work, passion and tenacity required to make and sell music and other entertainment products. They need to realise that many dedicated artists but also sound engineers, talent scouts, technicians, musicians and so many more individuals involved in the making and distribution of one song, actually try to make a living out of it. By stealing and distributing tracks on the Internet, both the industry and the music suffer greatly. That is why legal action is necessary."

Dick Doyle, Director General of IRMA, Ireland:

"This is an action against serial file sharers. The top six offenders have more than 2,000 illegal files (on average). This is equivalent to 200 albums, which is wholesale mass distribution and daylight robbery. When you consider that each of these pirates could be connected to 200,000 to 300,000 others at any one time, you begin to appreciate the scale of this theft.

"We have been issuing warnings for 15 months now. It is time to take action, we are not accepting it any longer."

Arto Alaspää, Managing Director of IFPI Finland:

"The Finnish recording industry suffered a 12.5 % fall in the value last year. Broadband penetration in Finland has more than doubled in a year and half, nearly a million Finnish households have it now. We can no longer tolerate the massive illegal file-sharing going on. Our most valuable asset, local and traditionally strong repertoire, is under heavy attack by massive uploaders. This is about Finnish jobs and livelihoods. From now on we will enforce our rights on the Internet just as in the physical world. People know they are breaking the law, now they must be ready to face the consequences. Stopping illegal file sharing is key to supporting the birth and existence of new, viable and legal digital music services. They deserve a fair chance for their efforts to bring true music lovers, our real customers, what they really want - good music for a reasonable price."

Franz Medwenitsch, Managing Director of IFPI Austria:

"Taking legal action against illegal file-sharing in Austria, once we had conducted an intense information and education campaign, has definitely been the right thing to do. It is copyright theft and it is decimating jobs, artists´ careers and livelihoods. The annual damage in Austria caused by online piracy is exceeding €15 Million. The Austrian online music market is developing at a good pace, but it is still hampered by the illegal distribution of music on the internet. We simply cannot sit back and watch it happen - we fully understand and support other European countries who take action."

Peter Jamieson, Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), UK:

"Unauthorised filesharing is against the law. It effectively steals the livelihood of musicians and the record companies who invest in them. We will not hesitate to protect the rights of our members and the artists they represent."

Hervé Rony, Director General of SNEP, the French Recording Industry Association:

"The French recording industry believes that the successful promotion and development of a legitimate online music market can only occur in a favourable economic climate. For this, we must tirelessly battle against illegal file-sharing on the internet. No legitimate online business can exist when confronted with a mass pirate market of "free" music.

"Le SNEP a déclaré que la promotion et le développement des offres légales en ligne ne peut avoir lieu que dans un contexte économique favorable, ce qui suppose de lutter sans relache contre les échanges illégaux de musique sur internet. Aucun marché ne peut exister dans un contexte de piraterie de masse."

Michael Ritto, Chairman of IFPI Denmark:

"The Danish music industry continues to suffer from the activities of internet pirates, but the results of our legal actions against illegal file-sharing which were carried out throughout 2004 are very positive. Not only have our efforts raised awareness of the illegality of sharing copyright-protected music, but the volume of illegally traded files has gone down on the networks we have targeted. In order to pave the way for legal services and support the retailers who are the first to bear the brunt of this attack, we have to continue the fight while at the same time supporting the creation of easy-to-use, legal online music services. The emergence of this legitimate market allows true music lovers to download better quality music at reasonable prices. There is no excuse for stealing music."

Peter Zombik, CEO of IFPI Germany:

"Legal actions in Germany against illegal file-sharing on the Internet have proven to be one effective tool to defend the rights of artists and producers. Combined with attractive services allowing people to download music legally, these actions can put a stop to the unauthorised distribution of music on the web. Users are more and more aware of the advantages legal download services offer them and of the legal and technical dangers involved in illegal file-sharing."

Enzo Mazza, General Director of FIMI, the Italian Recording Industry Association:

"Music piracy is an enormous and ongoing problem in Italy, threatening the jobs and livelihoods of thousands of Italians in the music industry.

As Italians take up broadband, they also take up unauthorised P2P file sharing in increasing amounts - 4 million Italians use P2P services and most of them share illegal files over the net. We cannot allow this to continue at this pace. Meanwhile legitimate online services are also growing day by day in Italy. This is a critical time in history for the emerging legitimate services and we absolutely need to stop the illegal alternative in order to give them the space to grow."

Cary Sherman, President of the Recording Industry Association of America:

"A global problem requires a global response," said Cary Sherman, President, Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). "And that is why the actions taken by our international colleagues are so welcome. Every week, it seems, there is an announcement of the launch of yet another legitimate online music service. By enforcing the rights of creators around the world, our colleagues are sending a message that there is no longer any excuse for uploading music illegally instead of buying it. With all the spyware, adware, viruses, loss of privacy, unwanted pornography and the risk of getting caught for copyright infringement, people's behavior and attitudes toward illegal file-sharing are already changing. Today's announcement will only help further deliver that message."

Paul Solleveld, NVPI Managing Director, The Netherlands:

"People have to understand the work, passion and tenacity involved in making and selling music and other entertainment products. They need to realise that many dedicated artists but also sound engineers, talent scouts, designers and so many more individuals involved in the making of one song, actually try to make a living out of it. By stealing and distributing tracks on the Internet, both the industry and the music suffer greatly. That is why legal action is necessary."

Third Party

Michel Lambot, President of IMPALA (Independent Music Companies Association)

"One day, my kid came home with lots of candies. When I asked him how he paid for them, he answered; "Easy! You just have to help yourself and put them in your pockets!" I forced him to go back to the supermarket and give them all back. I explained to him how and why the people working in the supermarket needed to get paid, how and why the delivery people needed to get paid, how and why the workers in the factory needed to get paid, how and why the farmers making the raw product for the candies needed to get paid… Is it normal that the people who make music that speaks to your heart, those who work hard to make the music available, those who work in the record stores and supermarkets to deliver the music are not getting paid? Is it normal to let your kids steal candies? Worse - are you stealing candies yourself?"

Toine Manders, Member of the European Parliament, The Netherlands

"As both a Member of the European Parliament and a big music fan, I am concerned that the millions of illegal files uploaded on the internet are undermining the future of artists, producers and everyone whose livelihood depends on making music. The European Parliament has played an important role in passing legislation to guard against copyright abuse in the Internet age. These laws should be respected so that the European recording industry and artists can get on with the job of making great music. "

Simon Wright, CEO Virgin Entertainment, President of GERA (Global Entertainment Retail Alliance)

"GERA-Europe remains supportive of litigation in the case of large scale uploading. It hopes that this second wave of litigation will continue to serve as a tool to educate music users and to render the legitimate sale of music online more viable and contribute to the revival of music sales through traditional channels. The latest move by the recording industry to stamp out what is essentially theft of copyright material is considered positive provided that the move continues to be accompanied by consumer education and other methods to promote the legitimate sale of music."

Éanna Casey, Chief Executive of RAAP (Recorded Artists and Performers)

"R.A.A.P. fully endorses the actions outlined this morning by IRMA. Online music piracy is selfish, illegal and has a direct impact on the economic welfare of Recording Artists and Performers. No industry can be expected to allow criminal activities to continue unchallenged, the illegal uploading of copyrighted music is now being confronted, and R.A.A.P. is committed to protecting its member's moral and economic rights"

Victor Finn, Managing Director of MCPS (Mechanical-Copywright Protection Society) Ireland

"We fully endorse the actions taken by IRMA today. All parties have been fully aware of their responsibilities for some time in this area. Unfortunately, not all have heeded the warnings given and they have made this action inevitable."

Cees Vervoord, CEO of Buma/Stemra (music copyright organization), Chairman of the Board of Directors of CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers).

"It is totally irresponsible to advertise the 'unlimited uploading of music'. Firstly, uploading is illegal in most cases. Secondly, you are exposing your customers to the risk of having to pay damage claims from rights holders. In the present climate, one would expect that companies of this size and importance would be working on the growth of their profit margins in an ethical and responsible way, whilst considering the rights of the music authors.'

Rafael McDonnell, Head of Strategic Marketing Alliances, Coca-Cola

"Downloading is undoubtedly the future for music and with the emergence of legal sites, there is simply no need to file-share music illegally. We need to continue to drive awareness of the availability of legal downloading sites such as MyCokeMusic.com in order make consumers aware of the alternatives. This is why we support IFPI in their efforts to stop illegal downloading.'

Robert Holleyman, President and CEO, BSA (Business Software Alliance) www.bsa.org

“P2P is an excellent technology, and nothing should make us lose sight of its potential. However, there are illegal uses of this technology that necessitate actions such as those announced today by IFPI and its members. BSA supports IFPI’s ability to protect its members' works online.

Using P2P technology to share unauthorized works, unfortunately, clouds the legal advantages of this technology. BSA and its members continue to believe that piracy on P2P networks is an unacceptable, illegal use of an otherwise impressive technology.

IFPI’s strategy is consistent with the joint principles announced two years ago by the IT and music industries where we agreed that private and government enforcement actions against infringers is critical to addressing the growth of online piracy. We are hopeful that the attention and discussion resulting from IFPI’s actions will highlight the importance of respecting copyrights for creative works online.”

John Malcolm, Senior Vice President and Director of Worldwide Anti-Piracy Operations, for the MPA (Motion Picture Association)

“IFPI’s actions prove once again that, when you are online, you can click, but you can’t hide. You will be held to account for your actions. When you steal copyrighted material from a peer-to-peer network that is open to the world, not only do you open your computer to perils such as viruses and worms but you reveal your identity and expose yourself to legal liability. The MPA, on behalf of the international film industry, fully support IFPI’s campaign to protect the copyrighted works of its members as well as the livelihoods of the millions of people around the world who work in the creative industries.”

Paul Smith, UK & Eire Sales Director, Loudeye/ OD2

"OD2 fully supports the promotion and growth of legal downloading. Offering music fans a legal alternative is of paramount importance to the whole industry – protecting artists work and safeguarding the industry for the future is absolutely what we are trying to achieve. Working closely with the IFPI, the record companies and of course our retailers, OD2 will continue to invest in offering digital music services which are both convenient and legal, whilst giving music fans a rewarding consumer experience."