30 days of ideas – 26: New Music Trust
I was sent a report by the IFPI (International Federation of Phonographic Institutes) last week about how the record business is so important and must be protected because – after all, who else is going to invest in new artists and new music? Here’s a PDF link if you’re interested.
I’ve been thinking about that a good deal recently, especially in the light of the proposed blanket tariff for online services. There’s an idea doing the rounds that everyone should pay an extra £5 a month on their internet bill, and then essentially that goes to the record industry. You know… because they’re so important, and we’re all stealing their stuff all the time.
It’s that old ‘music like water’ thing. Yeah – still.
Well, it occurs to me that while it’s true that the record industry has traditionally been the ones “investing” in new artists, they haven’t been doing it very well for quite some time – and nor has that investment been largely beneficial to the musicians, the audiences or to music in general.
But I’m prepared to entertain the idea that we should all contribute to the investment in new music (officially I’m opposed to a tariff, but go with me here for a moment) – I’m just not convinced that if we do that, then the money generated by those contributions should automatically go to the recording industry as a right. I have something else in mind.
