www.pro-music.org launched

MUSIC SECTOR CALLS FOR FANS TO GO ONLINE WITH PRO-MUSIC.ORG

New international website launched today, www.pro-music.org, highlights legitimate online music services and explodes myths about internet piracy.

Today sees the launch of www.pro-music.org, a new international initiative to promote legitimate online music services and confront the myths surrounding online music piracy.

The website is supported by an international alliance of musicians, performers, artists, major and independent record companies and retailers across the music industry.

Pro-Music.org, which comes as several new paid-for online music services are emerging in Europe, is the legitimate music sector’s latest strike against the spread of unauthorised music on the Internet.

The site includes the biggest international repository of information on the growing number of legitimate online music sites now offering more than 200,000 songs to consumers. It also features a step-by-step guide to the processes in making music and the teams of people involved, viewpoints on the piracy debate from a cross-section of artists, the media and the public, and answers to frequently asked questions about copyright laws for online music.

Pro-music has already attracted widespread support from across the music sector. It is endorsed by IFPI and IMPALA, representing thousands of record companies worldwide; GERA-Europe, representing entertainment retailers in Europe; GIART, representing music performers in Europe; and the international musicians union FIM. Pro-music has also drawn statements of support from a range of artists of all music genres from across Europe, as well as music companies such as MTV Europe and digital music distributor OD2.

Jay Berman, IFPI chairman and CEO, said: “The success in the US of Apple’s iTunes, which saw sales of over one million songs in less than a week, is proof that if it’s done right, music lovers want to get music in a way that rewards the artists and creators – that is, by paying for it.”

“The point of this initiative is to arm people with knowledge. The Pro-music.org site is an important resource for news and information about legitimate music online: where to find it, how it works, why it’s important and what the artists and creators of music think. Once they have gone through the site we hope people will stop and think about the impact of their choices as consumers of music. And they can make their own minds up next time someone asks, ‘so what’s the problem with getting music ‘free’ on the net?’”.

This is not the first such public awareness campaign aimed at informing the public about illegal copying and distribution of music. Several national campaigns have been launched over the past 12 months, such as “musicunited.org” in the US, “Save Music” in Japan, “Keepmusiccoming.com” in Canada and “BRN&GTBRNT” in New Zealand. Pro-music is the first international public awareness venture, with plans to roll out on a national level in several European countries in coming year.

The site features the following sections:

Making Music: a look behind the scenes at the specialist skills and practical experience needed to do some of the hundreds of different jobs that help musicians and artists attain their vision and get it out to the world. Making Music also expresses views from across the music-making community, from top successful managers to aspiring music students at the very start of their career.

Artists Speak: a range of artists and musicians, at different stages in their careers, explain how they feel about having their music taken without permission, how it effects the work and livelihoods of all those involved and how it stunts the development of new talent.

Music Online: the largest international listing of online digital music services and retailers, this section carries links to scores of music download sites and other sources of information about online music. It also contains news, commentary and a time-line the music sector’s moves to create an online music business.

Viewpoints: features quotes from music specialists, including large and small record labels, music associations, retailers and the media. The section also provides an overview of other campaigns launched by music groups from around the world.

Free Music: This section confronts some of the biggest myths about on-line music piracy, such as “File sharing and burning is just like home taping, and that never killed the music sector”, and “Free music sounds great – what’s the problem?”

On Copyright: Copyright is often misunderstood or misrepresented as serving only the interests of big business. “On Copyright” explains why copyright is needed and what the laws mean. This section also provides a more technical explanation on how to reset or uninstall p2p software to stay legal, and provides guidance for companies and colleges who wish to implement policies to avoid copyright theft.

Notes to editors:

For further information or interview requests please contact the supporting organisations directly as below, and/ or:

Adrian Strain, Julie Harari or Fiona Harley, IFPI Secretariat on Tel: +44 (0)20 7878 7900

ORGANISATIONS SUPPORTING PRO-MUSIC

FIM
The International Federation of Musicians (http://www.fim-musicians.com) is the longest established and most comprehensive international organisation representing musicians in all genres of music.It has been fully involved in protecting musicians interests in all the developments arising from digital technology including the internet and associated communications technologies. Press contact:
email: FIMparis@compuserve.com

GERA-Europe
The Global Entertainment Retail Association-Europe (www.gera-europe.org) represents entertainment retailers at a European level with respect to all issues that affect the way entertainment retailers do their business. Press contact: Ruben Schellingerhout, Tel: +32 2 626 1991, email: ruben.schellingerhout@gera-europe.org.

GIART
GIART is the International Organisation of Performing Artists composed of the European Collecting Societies of performers’ rights whose purpose is to defend and to promote the intellectual property rights of performing artists at European and International level. Press contact: Francesca Greca, Tel: +32 2 732 53 92,
Mobile: +32 476 208112

IFPI
IFPI (www.ifpi.org) promotes the interests of the recording industry worldwide and comprises a membership of over 1500 independent and major record companies in more than 70 countries. Press contact: Adrian Strain Tel: +44 (0)20 7878 7939,
email: info@ifpi.org

IMMF
The International Music Managers Forum (http://www.immf.net) represents the interests of music managers, and by extension their ‘featured artist’ clients, at the global level; our membership, the national associations of music managers in many countries, represent the same interests to their respective local governments. The organisation aims to help managers be more successful in representing their artist-clients through training and capacity-building initiatives, by actively participating in the work of multilateral processes and organisations which help develop norms in the copyright field, and through facilitating information sharing between managers worldwide. Press contact: Kim Hunter, Tel: +44 (0)20 8800 1011, Mobile: +44 (0)7985 275 447, email press@immf.net.

Impala
The Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA) is an international non profit-making trade association representing over 1800 independent record companies and music publishers across Europe. Its purpose is to promote their competitiveness in the interests of cultural diversity. Press contact: Helen Smith, Tel: +32 2 289 2600, email: hsmith@kernnet.com