Bono, U2 is inviting controversy by speaking against file sharing.
Ever since Paul McGuinness, manager of rock band U2, lashing out at Internet providers for allegedly exploiting and promoting illegal file sharing began, U2 fans doubt whether McGuinness spoke for the band.
Bono, lead singer of rock band U2 (seen here last month at launch party Vevo) is inviting controversy by speaking against file sharing. Bono, U2’s outspoken frontman, who cleared up this weekend. As part of an op-ed piece in The New York Times, argued the singer that online file sharing is hurting the music and film-makers and placed much of the blame on bandwidth providers.
“A decade’s worth of music file-sharing and swiping has made clear that the people it hurts are the creators,” Bono wrote, “in this case, the young, fledgling songwriters who can’t live off ticket and T-shirt sales like the least sympathetic among us.”
Bono’s comments are surprising. Most artists come close to publicly criticize file sharing for fear it might alienate fans in the same way as Metallica, when the group brought an action against Napster copyright almost ten years ago. Lars Ulrich, Metallica’s drummer, was vocal in his dislike for those who shared Metallica’s music without paying for it, and the band was widely criticized for its antipiracy position.
The U2’s case, the band members appeared ready for the last two years McGuinness have taken their spears and arrows, for speaking out against file sharing. In an interview with CNET last spring, McGuinness, U2’s manager for more than two decades, irritated some of the free-content crowd when he said”the end, freedom is the enemy of good.
Singer said that people benefit most from online piracy are those who use the ISP’, whose swollen profits perfect mirror of the lost revenue from the music business.” Obtaining ISP help in the fight against online piracy is crucial to the entertainment business. Critics say that ISPs are in the best position to block pirated material, which flows through the pipes and create a file-sharing as a deterrent. But the biggest ISP appeared willing to do a lot of cajoling and lobbying through the entertainment community. For example, the Recording Industry Association of America seeking to secure their help in creating a system that involved Internet service providers would gradually ratchet up pressure on suspected file sharers. RIAA promised before that agreement in place.
So far, no partnership was announced, and this time the promise seems to have been empty. Negotiations are continuing, even though many in the music industry are tired of the perceived foot dragging ISP. It is a source Bono’s frustration?
Bono and McGuinness know how it looks when fans are some of the richest group in the world, will complain about lost profits. But both men say that jo’t speak for the group U2, which has recognized McGuinness is rich and it costs money from concert tours and sales. Bono and his band manager suggests that the name of the talented acts that have not yet made a name for himself, but will in future be harmed by file sharing.
