The music recording industry swooped on 247 individuals
in Denmark, Germany, Italy and Canada yesterday for allegedly
making copyright-protected music available on file-swapping
services.
The announcement marks an expansion of the industry's tactic of
pursuing individuals who offer music online to countries outside
the US. Last week, the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA) launched a new round of lawsuits against US file
swappers.
The action in Europe and Canada is aimed at individuals who
offered hundreds of files for download, said the International
Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). Further action
against "major uploaders" will be launched in different countries
in the coming months.
In Sweden, for example, copyright holders are launching an
instant messaging campaign to put users of file-sharing services on
notice that they face legal retaliation if they continue offering
copyright-protected music online.
Educational campaigns have proven not to be a sufficient
deterrent; legal action is the only way to get people to rethink
their actions, said IFPI chairman and chief executive officer Jay
Berman.
The IFPI sees RIAA's action in the US as a success. Studies show
that use of file-swapping services fell in the wake of RIAA's
pursuit of individual file sharers. However, according to one
study, use is now increasing again.
The Pew Internet & American Life Project in January said the
number of US internet users who download songs on peer-to-peer
networks fell from 29% to 14% at the end of the year.
Meanwhile, The NPD Group - also in January - said that use of
file-sharing services was up 14% in November 2003 compared with
September, an upturn after six straight months of declines.
Global sales of recorded music fell 7% in 2002, according to the
IFPI. Numbers for 2003 have not yet been released, but the IFPI
estimates another 7% decline.
But not everyone subscribes to the theory that file-swapping
hurts music sales. Researchers at Harvard University and the
University of North Carolina tracked downloads of songs from 680
albums during a 17-week period in 2002 and compared that data with
the commercial success of the same albums. They found downloads had
an effect on sales that is "statistically indistinguishable from
zero".
"The internet is actually more like the radio than people
assume. Users almost always download one or two songs and if they
like the album they buy it," said Felix Oberholzer, an associate
professor at Harvard Business School who worked on the study.
"The internet seems to be a great promotional tool. If I can get
people to download several songs from an album, maybe the person
will actually buy the album," he said.
The targeted file sharers used a range of applications,
including Kazaa, DirectConnect, WinMX, eMule and iMesh, the IFPI
said. It is unlikely anyone will be imprisoned as a result of the
action, but large fines are possible.
Joris Evers writes for IDG News Service