Tuesday September 15, 2009

Lily Allen has spoken out against internet piracy — insisting it’s having a “dangerous effect” on the music industry.

The Smile hitmaker took to her MySpace blog Monday to call on other musicians to help her spearhead an industry-wide plan of action to stamp out illegal file-sharing.

“I think music piracy is having a dangerous effect on British music, but some really rich and successful artists like Nick Mason from Pink Floyd and Ed O’Brien from Radiohead don’t seem to think so,” Lily wrote. “The Featured Artists Coalition also says file sharing’s fine because it ‘means a new generation of fans for us’.

“This is great if you’re a big artist at the back end of your career with loads of albums to flog to a new audience, but emerging artists don’t have this luxury. Basically the FAC is saying ‘we’re alright, we’ve made it, so file sharing’s fine’, which is just so unfair to new acts trying to make it in the industry.

“If this sounds like I’m siding with the record bosses, I’m not. They’ve been naive and complacent about new technology — and they’ve spent all the money they’ve earned on their own fat salaries, not industry development.

“But as they start to lose big from piracy, they’re not slashing their salaries — they’re pulling what they invest in A&R [artists and repertoire]. Lack of funds results in A&R people not being able to take risks and only signing acts they think will work…

“I’m going to be writing (to) British artists, saying just this: File sharing’s not okay for British music. We need to find new ways to help consumers access and buy music legally, but saying file sharing’s fine is not helping anyone — and definitely not helping British music.”

Tags: lily allen