Music industry players have decided to embrace the "digital age" in order to benefit from the online industry which is dominated by pirates.<\/p>\n
World Music Expo general director Gerald Seligman told delegates to the Moshito music conference yesterday that about 95% of the downloading of music was being done "without a penny exchanging hands".<\/p>\n
He said the new trend whereby the public downloads music dictated terms and artists, record labels and distributors were the losers in the process.<\/p>\n
According to ringtonia.com, pirates cost the music industry $1m a day. "It costs the industry billions of dollars," said Seligman. There was a "growing consensus" among people in the industry that intellectual property rights holders needed to unite in approaching digital distributors, internet and mobile service providers, he said.<\/p>\n
"Our partners are no longer distributors and retail shops. Our partners are now internet service providers, mobile service providers and digital distributors."<\/p>\n
The industry should negotiate with the new partners through one or two parties, representing performers and publishers.<\/p>\n
He said the new digital environment required more creativity for rights holders to offer the market what pirates cannot.<\/p>\n
The new partners would need more material, greater availability, special offers, value-added features, demos, live footage, special interviews and performances.<\/p>\n
The licensing process should be "vastly" simplified and the licence be easily accessible. "We must have a ‘feels like free’ subscription; not charge for each track but charge the person once a month."<\/p>\n
Once that was in place, fees would be distributed by collecting societies.<\/p>\n
"Collecting societies must be enhanced where they exist and create new ones where they don’t exist."<\/p>\n
Unclaimed royalties could be used to create collecting societies worldwide through education, outreach, investment and infrastructure.<\/p>\n
There was also a feeling that consumers should be charged "at point of entry" to the site. These fees would then be passed on to right holders.<\/p>\n
"This is controversial as it may have to be legislated by government," he said. "This would mean people not downloading music would have to pay for a service they don’t use."<\/p>\n
The suggestions were welcomed by most delegates, but they agreed the CD selling business was not "dead" yet.<\/p>\n
Eugene Mthethwa of the Black Agenda Forum and member of kwaito group Trompies said artists should offer more than just tracks in their albums in order to compete with pirates.<\/p>\n
"The CD must also include a video and pictures (photographs)."<\/p>\n
Mthethwa was also part of a panel that discussed needle time legislation, dealing with the payment of artists when their songs are used.<\/p>\n
The law even allows guitarists, drummers and everyone involved in the creation of a song to get paid every time it receives airplay.<\/p>\n
He said there should be a single collecting society for the industry.<\/p>\n