Rocker and part time saint Bono of U2 fame has had a go at internet service providers for allowing illegal music downloads. He also warned Hollywood and TV execs that pretty soon tv shows will be traded and downloaded just as easily.
The aging rocker accuses wealthy web executives of getting rich off the back of the ailing music industry, which loses vast sums of revenue every time music tracks and albums are illegally downloaded and shared.
Writing for a column in the New York Times, Bono said: “The immutable laws of bandwidth tell us we’re just a few years away from being able to download an entire season of (TV show) 24 in 24 seconds.
“A decade’s worth of music file-sharing and swiping has made clear that the people it hurts are the creators… The people this reverse Robin Hooding benefits are rich service providers, whose swollen profits perfectly mirror the lost receipts of the music business.
“The only thing protecting the movie and TV industries from the fate that has befallen music and indeed the newspaper business is the size of the files.”
The “Beautiful Day” hitmaker believes the problem would be solved if internet service providers monitor their file-sharers and enforce strict controls, adding: “We know from America’s noble effort to stop child pornography, not to mention China’s ignoble effort to suppress online dissent, that it’s perfectly possible to track content…
“Perhaps movie moguls will succeed where musicians and their moguls have failed so far, and rally America to defend the most creative economy in the world, where music, film, TV and video games help to account for nearly four per cent of gross domestic product.”
I think Bono and his fellow stars would get a lot more sympathy if we actually saw them suffering, and having only 3 houses instead of 5 doesnt count.