Net piracy threatens irish music industry

"And that's being conservative," Dennis Woods tells hotpress. "One of our Far Eastern territories, where virtually everybody has broadband access, reckons that internet piracy halved the sales of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' By The Way album. A couple of years ago the biggest problem was Napster, now it?s the peer-to-peer sharing facilitated by the likes of Kazaa.

"There's a perception that because it's on the 'net it should be free. No, it shouldn't! If something has a value and you?re not paying it, it's theft.

Woods' concerns were highlighted last week when Radiohead's Hail To The Thief was leaked onto the ?net two months before its official release.

?I bet they had no idea how prophetic the title would prove to be!" he rues. "People will say, 'Oh, Thom Yorke's rich enough', but it's the one successful band like Radiohead who are paying for the 19 that are losing money. The less EMI make from Radiohead, the less they're going to have to sign and develop new acts. Just demoing somebody costs you ten grand. I'm not being overly-dramatic when I say that what we?re facing is a complete breakdown in record company infrastructure.?

Dennis Woods is even more pessimistic about the future of the film industry.

"I hate to think what's going to happen when DVD sharing becomes commonplace, especially given the staggered release dates of most films," he expands. "Why spend €6 or €7 on going to see the new Harry Potter or Lord Of The Rings at the cinema here when the DVD's out in America and on one of these free file-sharing sites"

So how do you stop internet piracy?

"The honest answer is, 'We don't know'. We have to continue to make the product as attractive as possible to consumers - packaging, special add-ons, that sort of thing. Apart from that, it's either got to be done through the law or a mindset change. One thing we absolutely can't afford to do, as an industry, is bury our heads in the sand."