Bono calls for control over Internet downloads

AFP ^ | Jan 2, 2009 | Unknown

[decimon]

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Irish rock star Bono called Sunday for tougher controls over the spread of intellectual property over the Internet, arguing that file swiping and sharing hurt creators of cultural products.

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"A decade?s worth of music file-sharing and swiping has made clear that the people it hurts are the creators -- in this case, the young, fledgling songwriters who can?t live off ticket and T-shirt sales like the least sympathetic among us," Bono noted.

The singer pointed out that the US effort to stop child pornography and China?s effort to suppress online dissent indicate that it is "perfectly possible to track" Internet content.

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[decimon]

commi-capitalist...

Didn't "crony capitalist" come from the Marxist fold?

[Yo-Yo]

Hey Bono, I think that all income above $1 million generated by entertainers should be seized by the UN and used to feed the starving children. Surely you can live on $1 million per year when there are people in Africa living on $100 per year.

[pnh102]

I personally approve of content piracy because it deprives leftists of revenue, and that is always a good thing.

However, I never really bought the argument that each act of piracy is indeed a lost sale. Methinks most of the people doing the pirating would have never bought legitimate copies of the content anyway, as opposed to physical goods being stolen, which does indeed represent a lost sale.

[Recon Dad]

Is this is the 10th anniversary of the last time anyone downloaded a Bono song or something?

[Flag_This]

"It seems large corporate entities, like U2..."

That would surely rankle Mr. Bono.

Maybe when he's finished sheltering his assets from taxes he can call me and we'll talk about it...

[PA-RIVER]

Bryan, you naild him.

He wants every person in Africa to share my paycheck, but his art work must be protected as his personal property.

What a Jacka$$. Protect him and screw everyone else...

[Rutles4Ever]

Bono should be focusing his energy on figuring out how he became such a crappy songwriter after Achtung Baby. I would happily cough up $15 for anything that comes close to The Unforgettable Fire or Joshua Tree.

[InterceptPoint]

It's too late Bono.

Most musicians are finding that putting their music up on YouTube is the best free advertising they can get and pushes up their live performance attendance. I think this is trend that is irreversible and, while it may hurt some of the top draws like U2, it allows the unknowns to climb up the ladder. For example I discovered Brandi Carlile on YouTube and plan to go to her live performance when she shows up in Anaheim next March. No YouTube video would mean at least one less Anaheim ticket sale. I think my example is pretty common.

And while putting your own video on YouTube hardly makes it public domain it has the same affect. There are many tools for downloading YouTube videos to your computer, many in HD formats, that are perfectly suitable for viewing on your Ethernet or computer connected HDTV. If this wasn't benefiting the great majority of the today's musicians then they wouldn't be allowing it to happen. Google/YouTube will certainly delete any copyright material on request and, AFAIK, only Warner Records has elected to do so. I predict Warner will reverse that policy at some point in the future when they start to lose clients because of it.

[Venturer]

Him and the Horse he rode in on and the smithy that shoe’d the horse.

[hal ogen]

I call for control over bonehead bono. You stink and so does your attempt at “entertainment”. Get lost you cultural freak.

[MuttTheHoople]

I thought he died.

[KarlInOhio]

Corkoman calls for a 90% tax on all rock shows by Irish bands held in arenas of >12,000 the proceeds to be sent to me.

Irish? I thought U2 became a Dutch band for tax evasion purposes.

[FunkyZero]

ahh... Bono, did you not learn anything from the Lars incident?

OH wait, you are already a laughing stock who produces nothing anyone would want to steal anyway. my bad

[3catsanadog]

When I was a kid in the 60's and '70's most of my allowance went towards the $5-7 dollars for artists I like.

The first album I ever bought was "Meet the Beatles" back in 1964. I paid $2.98 for it.

Now, back to our scheduled thread . . . .

[rubofthebrush]

The way I understood It Bono was trying to help third world countries by convincing the PTB to forgive their crushing debt.I think he's a good guy and a christian. http://www.gigwise.com/news/27265/Bono-Calls-On-World-Leaders-To-Fulfil-Promises.......

[FunkyZero]

well just for the record... comparatively speaking, Sonny actually had a bit of talent. The other Bono just runs around wanting to be the next Gandhi

[LomanBill]

The downloading criminals are simply navigating using the moral-compass HE, Bono, helped calibrate... and he doesn’t like the neverland it pointed them to?

Well booo friggin hooo. Let them all fight it out whilst marrooned on Alcatraz Island.

[decimon]

Back when Bono and Kennedy were skiing into trees, I considered a campaign to send ski tickets to all in Congress. But that could have invited a knock on the door. Or through the door.

But what would this Bono think of an avalanche of donated ski tickets?

[FrdmLvr]

Methinks the bloke has a bit o’ the ol capitalist mentality going on here. “I live off t-shirt and ticket sales”???? Share the wealth, man! Give the struggling artists a cut of your take! And give The People what they want - free music for all! Down with capitalist pig rock stars like Bono!

[spodefly]

Hey Bono, here is a deal ... we can have people stop downloading your music for free as soon as freeloading asswipes that vote for your party of choice stop “downloading” the results of my time and efforts through government collection agencies with guns.