It is the music business but if it's the business that's at the heart of it then leave this industry and go and sell toilet rolls. #realtalk
— Nihal A (@TherealNihal) September 17, 2012
Yesterday Musicmetric released figures in a report about illegal downloading of music. The statistics are shocking. 33 million albums and 10 million singles files were illegally downloaded in the UK in the first six months of this year. Nihal chose this topic for his phone in show on the BBC Asian Network and talked to Foji and DJ Vips about illegal downloading in the Bhangra industry. If like me you were unable to listen to it when it was broadcast, you can listen again here.
There is no doubt that illegally downloading music is morally wrong. If you want to buy a product that someone has worked hard to develop and produce, then you should pay that person for that product. However, there were callers on Nihal's show who tried to justify their illegal downloading. Reasons given by callers included that they couldn't afford to pay for music (even when they could afford to pay for big TVs) and that artists make money by touring and performing.
As with many topics on the phone in show, an hour was too short to fully discuss the subject. The music industry needs to look at why people download illegally and look for solutions to solve the problem. There are also wider issues in relation to illegal downloading such as promotion, quality of music released and the technology used to illegally download
Twitter users also joined the debate and I have posted some of the best tweets on the topic after the jump.
@therealnihal music piracy is the labels fault. Y didn't they invent @spotify or @bloomfm ? They focused on the problem not the solution.
— ATDM (@atdmeek) September 17, 2012
@therealnihal making illegal downloading a crime which is on par to stealing from a shop would deter many. repeat offenders would do time.
— Mandeep Bhaur (@MandeepBhaur) September 17, 2012
@therealnihal In a talentless industry with lost identity. The Bhangra scene is confused with being black. Why pay for no talent? Same old..
— Kal Nar (@kalnar280511) September 17, 2012
@therealnihal the scene is on its knees I'm the last generation that can make a comfortable living off it..such a shame but can't be stopped
— Jassi Sidhu (@Jassisidhu) September 17, 2012
@therealnihal fyi ul never win ur discussion asking asians to not illegally download is like asking me to not have an opinion..won't happen
— Jassi Sidhu (@Jassisidhu) September 17, 2012
Its wrong to illegally download.But what r artist/record labels doing to close down the sites where you can download illegally @therealnihal
— Kunal Mistry (@kuny_m) September 17, 2012
@therealnihal this caller is spot on.. promotion in asian music is non existent and some artists dont make music for the love of it.
— Chakdey.com (@chakdeydotcom) September 17, 2012
@bbcasiannetwork @therealnihal with legal d/l's 79p per d/l doesnt make an artist rich when split with itunes, record labels, etc.
— M (@thebaigstar) September 17, 2012
@bbcasiannetwork @therealnihal Of course it's wrong! But even legal sales won't help when it costs thousands to release one single properly!
— KubsMatharu (@kubsmatharu) September 17, 2012
@therealnihal Even with legal sales u can't survive! Therefore gigs has 2 be the biggest source of income to fund ongoing music projects IMO
— KubsMatharu (@kubsmatharu) September 17, 2012
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