Music giant seeking tougher piracy laws
Beijing needs to introduce effective legislation to tackle internet piracy and do more than just close down illegal CD factories to protect music copyright, an international music executive said yesterday.
Roger Faxon, president and co-chief executive of EMI Music Publishing, told a forum in Beijing that mainland authorities had been 'most diligent in seeking to curb physical piracy', but the problem was the lack of effective laws.
'As broadband penetration continues to grow, the propensity to engage in music piracy also grows ... I do believe that the Chinese government has come to understand the level of commitment necessary and I am hopeful it will continue to move forward in this most important area,' Mr Faxon said.
China was one of the most important internet communities in the world, he said, and more than two-thirds of the country's online users had access to broadband connections.
'According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industries [IFPI] the value of pirated music worldwide is at least US$5 billion [a year] ... and the number of copyrighted music tracks available for illegal download or distribution is almost 1 billion.'
Mr Faxon did not say how much money EMI has lost to music piracy on the mainland, but he indicated it was a serious concern.
He said IFPI data suggested that 80 to 90 per cent of music sales on the mainland involved some illegality and 'songwriters haven't been paid'.
'It does take the government to provide effective laws, to enforce these laws and for individual consumers to understand that taking music off another website is stealing,' Mr Faxon said.
