British music labels target file-sharers

Updated: British music labels have marked their intention to crack down on people illegally downloading music from the internet. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI), which represents thousands of British record companies, has told illegal file-sharers to stop downloading or risk court action. According to new research by the BPI, of the eight million people that claim to be downloading music via the net, 92 per cent are using illegal sites. It also found that spending on music by downloaders fell by a third in 2003. Peter Jamieson, chairman at the BPI, said: “Illegal filesharing is causing real financial damage to artists, to songwriters, to record companies, publishers, retailers and everyone involved in the business.” “There is no excuse whatsoever for people taking music without permission. There are literally hundreds of thousands of tracks available on legal internet music services in the UK, and the number of tracks available and the number of services providing them grows weekly,” added Jamieson. The BPI has launched an ‘instant messaging’ campaign to tackle the “small hardcore of people who are offering hundreds and often thousands of music files over the internet”. It warns that they face court action if they do not disable file-sharing software on their computers. However, online music experts have warned that the BPI must tread carefully if it is to launch legal action against online downloaders. Mark Mulligan, an analyst with Jupter Research, told Web User: "I can fully understand why the BPI feels it needs to do this but the timing of it has to absolutely crucial." "It would be ill-advised of the BPI to take high-profile legal action against individuals until we have a wider choice of compelling legal download services up and running in Europe," added Mulligan.