Shakira News

(9/26/02, 5 p.m. ET) -- Shakira, Mary J. Blige, Britney Spears, Elton John, Eminem, the Dixie Chicks, Madonna, and Sheryl Crow are among more than 90 artists of every genre that are participating in an aggressive educational campaign organized by the Music United For Strong Internet Copyright Coalition (MUSIC) to combat the epidemic of illegal music downloading. Illegal downloading is taking its toll on CD sales and, in the process, threatening the entire music industry, according to MUSIC. CD shipments dropped seven percent in the first half of this year, after already having fallen more than five percent in 2001.

The campaign kicked off Thursday (September 26) with full-page ads in The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, as well as publications aimed at policymakers such as Roll Call. The ad asks in large bold print, "Who Really Cares About Illegal Downloading?" It provides the answer to that question with statements from a diverse list of artists, including Missy Elliott, Sting, Phil Collins, Luciano Pavarotti, Brian Wilson, and Natalie Cole.

In coming weeks, many artists will be seen and heard in a series of television and radio spots imploring fans to put a stop to the tidal-wave of illegal downloading. In addition, messages from artists are also displayed at the organization's new website (musicunited.org).

Colombian superstar Shakira explains in one of the spots, "Making an album is a team effort so when somebody pirates a record, they are not only cheating the artist but also the people who worked on it, like co-producers, co-writers, musicians."

Hip-hop queen Blige says of illegal downloading, "If you create something and someone takes it away, that is stealing."

"If you rob artists of their means of earning, eventually there will be no art of consequence or substance," notes Goo Goo Dolls frontman Johnny Rzeznik.

More than 2.6 billion music files are downloaded illegally from the Internet each month, mainly through unlicensed "peer-to-peer" services such as KaZaA, Morpheus, and Gnutella, according to music-industry estimates. A recent survey of music consumers by Washington-based Peter D. Hart Research Associates found that people who are downloading more are generally buying less by a two-to-one margin. The Hart survey also found that among teenage consumers, 35 percent say the first thing they are most likely to do when they hear a song they like is to download it for free.

The announcement marking the launch of the new initiative was made at a news conference on Wednesday (September 25) in Washington, D.C. The press event was chaired by RIAA chief executive Hilary Rosen, David Munns of EMI Recorded Music, and David Benjamin, UMG's senior vice president of anti-piracy.

"Too many people don't realize that when you download a song you like from a peer-to-peer network or some other unauthorized Internet source, what you're doing is stealing music," explained Rosen. "And not only is that against the law, it also hurts the very artists and songwriters most downloaders prefer to love."

The MUSIC Coalition comprises of the following institutions: Alliance Of Artists And Recording Companies, Association For Independent Music, American Federation Of Musicians, American Federation Of Television And Radio Artists, ASCAP, BMI, Country Music Association, Christian Music Trade Association, Gospel Music Association, Hip-Hop Music Action Network, Jazz Alliance International, Music Managers Forum-USA, Nashville Songwriters Association International, National Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences, Recording Industry Association Of America, Recording Industries Music Performance Trust Funds, SESAC, SoundExchange, Tennessee Songwriters Association International, and the Songwriters Guild Of America.

-- Jason Gelman, New York

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