Folksonomics

Rampant file sharing of music videos has badly affected musicians, who have recently formed a core group to stop this menace. This group now has about a hundred members, comprising some of the most well known names from the music industry. Famous musicians like Lily Allen, Annie Lennox and others recently debated on this issue in a meeting that continued for three hours.

It was decided that as the earlier suggestion of blocking net access of defaulters had faced some stiff opposition, throttling bandwidth of defaulters could be tried. This will stop file sharing and yet allow users to browse the web and access e-mail. However, serious written warnings will be sent to the defaulters, giving them time to change their habits. If they fail to take the warnings seriously and stop their illegal practices, then this ultimate measure will be adopted. Because the internet has become a basic need for most of us, and with the advent of mobile broadband and free laptops, it can be accessed whenever and wherever a person wants; many now consider broadband access as a ‘utility’, this makes the thought of people not being allowed access extraordinary.

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has also echoed the same view regarding warnings. Though blocking net access is not easy, there is an agreement among musicians and other artistes on the point that throttling of bandwidth is the last effective method to stop this practice, howsoever unpopular and unpleasant it may be.

This proactive stance of the musicians has not gone down well with the media. Lily Allen has faced a lot of criticism because of the opinions expressed in her blog against internet piracy. As a reaction to it, she has declined to appear in any interview for the time being.