By Polly Raymond, 19 January 1999 17:01
NEWS Some of the world's most famous pop stars presented a petition to the European Parliament today calling for tighter laws to control the distribution of music of the Internet. Artists including Boyzone, Jean-Michel Jarre, Tom Jones and Robbie Williams, claim the music industry is in the grip of Web pirates who can easily download records and sell them on. They argue this is a severe abuse of copyright laws and could put many artists and distributors out of business. The campaign - 'Artistes Unite for Copyright' - was launched today because a draft EU Copyright Directive is being discussed which could determine the future of the music business. Speaking at the petition hand-over ceremony in Brussels, French musician Jean-Michel Jarre, said: "We are looking for the rules we need to secure the future of European creativity in the age of the Internet, and we are looking for Europe's politicians to help." According to Paul Jessop, a spokesman for the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry - the trade association helping to co-ordinate the campaign - the main fault lies in laws that are not strong enough to control recording and distribution technology. "The principal opposition to our campaign is likely to come from the technology manufacturers," he said, "but we're going to New York in the next few months and I'm confident we can find a situation where both parties are happy."
In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.
Log in or create your silicon.com account below