Music's Digital Trends - A War Against Illegal Piracy??

With piracy rampant in an over-saturated market and with CD sales tanking causing many performers to bank on live performances, creative PR, and even corporate gigs to make a living. Ringtones, sponsorships, partnerships, legal downloads, and even branded content may be the only glimmers of hope at the moment for the war against piracy, illegal downloads, or black markets.

One example is the latest trend in the UK where Virgin Media and Universal Music unveiled plans for a ground-breaking digital music service designed to bring about a rapid and permanent change in the way UK consumers buy and listen to music. The service – a world first – will enable any Virgin Media broadband customer or user to stream and download as many music tracks and albums as they want from Universal Music’s entire catalog, in return for a great-value monthly subscription fee.

Downloaded music will be theirs to keep permanently and to store on any MP3 compatible device. An “entry level” offer will be available for customers who download music regularly, but may not want an unlimited service. The service is intended to launch later this year. Virgin Media is negotiating with other UK major and independent music labels and publishers to ensure it can offer a complete, compelling catalogue by the time it launches.
This new service reflects the shared commitment of Virgin Media and Universal Music to keep up to step with the ever growing demand for online music in an increasingly digital world. In parallel, the two companies will be working together to protect Universal Music’s intellectual property and drive a material reduction in the unauthorized distribution of its repertoire across Virgin Media’s network.

This will involve implementing a range of different strategies to educate file sharers about online piracy and to raise awareness of legal alternatives. They include, as a last resort for persistent offenders, a temporary suspension of internet access. No customers will be permanently disconnected and the process will not depend on network monitoring or interception of customer traffic by Virgin Media.

Commenting on the new service, Virgin Media’s CEO, Neil Berkett, said: “In terms of both convenience and value, our new music service will be superior to anything that’s available online today and provides a fair deal for both consumers and artists. There is no better example of Virgin Media’s commitment to harnessing digital technology to give customers what they want, when they want and how they want.”

Lucian Grainge, Chairman and Chief Executive of Universal Music Group International, said: “Britain has a world-class reputation for artists and music. Now British consumers will have access to a world-class digital music service. I believe this puts all of us at the forefront of a new era.”

The issue at heart is this - while this is a generally pretty decent offer, the existence of sites like Limewire and many other digital "black markets" can never really be taken out. Its as huge a battle as the drug wars, prostitution wars, etc. The demand for product will never diminish and the ways of getting the products will never decrease. People will always find ways of getting what they want. Thats how this industry has survived, everybody wants and needs it, but they all have different ways of getting it!! Hence, the different ways of distribution.

Its a waste of time and breath for any individual, company, or entity to even say that they are fighting against something like piracy or black market. There is no need to fight, but there are a lot of needs to co-exist. Both the sides of this "war" have a pretty big playing field and certainly, a few number of consumers to attract.