Digital Britain Report
The UK Government published its Digital Britain report this week. Much anticipated, after months of consultation, it attempts to address key issues including the “digital divide” and illegal file sharing.
There’s no doubt that illegal file sharing is a significant problem that denies artists, publishers and labels payment for their creative and promotional efforts. It’s a relief for all music lovers, however, that the goverment isn’t looking to criminalise them in the way that US legislators seem to have been trying to do since the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. That said, I don’t share the Pirate Bay team’s view that everyone has an unlimited right to share. As we say in our Psonar Copyright Notice:
“Music is the work of other people – whose rights are protected in law. Some people may choose to share their creative work with other people without charging for it – see www.creativecommons.org, but others – for many of whom creating music is their livelihood – want to be paid for the enjoyment that they provide.”
We believe that Psonar reinforces the messages of Digital Britain – that the creative industries deserve a proper commercial return for the work they create but not in a way that criminalises fans. We want all our users to share each other’s passion for music, by listening to samples from each others’ collections, and then have the opportunity to buy the music that they want to own.
Martin
Posted by Martin Rigby 
