Artists End War Of Words But No Consenus On P2P
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UK artists and musicians have put aside their differences to broadly back the government’s revised anti-piracy plans to use tougher technical measures against P2P offenders. A war of words had been escalating for the past fortnight between artists who vehemently oppose illegal file-sharing and back the government—led by unlikely copyright activist Lily Allen—and the more measured approach of the Featured Artists’ Coalition which had criticised the heavy-handed rules and predicted they would “alienate” a generation of fans.
SEE ALSO: IP Minister Defends P2P Disconnection Plans As Artists Attack
But now the FAC—comprising members of Radiohead, Billy Bragg and others—has released a statement which backs Allen’s campaign and—to a limited extent—puts its weight behind Lord Mandelson’s three strikes policy. And Allen herself, who wrote this thunderous anti-piracy call-to-arms (now deleted, but cached via Google) just days ago, has stepped back from the debate and removed herself as a self-appointed spokeswoman for hardline IP protectors.
But there’s not quite a consensus: unlike Allen and the many artists that wrote to her in support, including James Blunt, Keane and Muse, the FAC does not back disconnection. Its statement says it supports the “restriction of the infringer’s bandwidth to a level which would render file-sharing of media files impractical.” But this isn’t what the government is proposing: as a last resort, it wants to dish out complete suspensions of accounts, which it admits would affect all members of a household equally.
However, Allen’s retreat from the public piracy battle may have as much to do with a row with Techdirt.com as a softening of views. The site accused her of copying an entire post about rapper 50 Cent’s views on piracy and re-publishing it on her blog without attribution. She was duly accused of a form of piracy herself—the irony of situation seems to be lost on her.
But it is Lord Mandelson who has the last laugh: thanks to Allen, his piracy plans are now supported by several hip young artists and the former protestors have shifted considerably in his favour
Posted In: Entertainment, Music, Legal, Digital Britain, Digital Rights Management
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