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Andy Burnham *NEWS USE ONLY - GETTY IMAGE*

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The government gives big sign it plans to stamp out music piracy

22 Feb 08 - The Culture Secretary has set a deadline saying internet service providers (ISPs) must prove they are trying to stop music piracy by April 2009.

Speaking before the launch of a creative industries strategy paper, Culture Secretary Andy Burnham said the move was a "clear signal" of the Government's intent to tackle the problem of piracy.

Music and film industries blame piracy for a slump in CD and DVD sales, with an estimated six million people downloading files illegally every year in the UK.

This reportedly costs music and film companies billions in lost revenue.

Mr Burnham said: "Let me make it absolutely clear. This is a change of tone from the Government. It's definitely serious legislative intent.

"We're saying we'll consult on legislation, recognising there are practical questions and legitimate issues.

"We're not saying, 'Here's one we made earlier, here's a bill'."

ISPs were warned by Mr Burnham that they could only prevent the move by taking concrete steps to curb piracy.

There have been talks with the entertainment industry over introducing a voluntary scheme for policing pirate activity by major ISPs such as BT, Virgin and Tiscali but no agreement has been reached yet.

Kelly Stooke

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Comments so far

jameslondon
i dont see y this is a big deal everybody does it i dair say the queen downloads music that mr burnham has.i dont think they have lost billions come on thats just goin over the top. people like 50 cent get milleons a year they all do y do they need more i could understand if no one was bying cds but if that were true there would not be hmvs in your towns and citys. also some people do not have the time to go out to a hmv because they have to look after kids thats a full time job so at the end of the day mums and dads could go on the pc and download the music they like

JK, London
U DONT UNDERSTAND!! I am from trinidad, and there is not ONE pay for music site for the music i like, I hate INDIE, I hare all this american hip hop and House music, I like my Dancehall and Soca, but noo there is not ONE deacent pay for music site, the only way i can get the music i love, is the Free way. iTunes wont let me sign up to iTunes US, which has loads of Dancehall and Soca, iTunes UK doesnot!If i could get the music i love in England i would be more than happy to pay for it.

Daniel Boyland,Cheltenham Spa
this will never work so many people download music illegally the ISPs will lose so much money if they cut them off. Everybody does it normal civillians and even police officers which are meant to be inforceing the law download illegally. Even people working for trading standards download illegally the only major people complaining about this is the record companies and lets face it they're loaded anyway. People have been able to download music for free off the internet for years and people still buy cd's etc.

Chris. Milton Keynes
It's simple why they do this, because they're too greedy, as long as they make more money for their own lazy arses it's all good isnt it? People download because it's easy, quick and good quality, you can't exactly pop down HMV and ask for a song in MP3 or Ipod at the counter.

steven rap uckfield
i think that people should be aloud to download. if people didn't want it in the first place they should have stopped it then

Reeah, Northampton
So what does this mean what happens if you download between now and 2009? In my opinion i dont see how music industries are suffering loss because i use downloading but i still buy CDs ? does work theres no point because people will just find other ways to download illegally :]

Sean London
This move will signal the end of music, it's laughable, they think they have plotted a way to end piracy and make some more money or their greedy little mouths, consumers are learning more about music through the internet - hit the ISP's and the music industry will find themselves back at square one. Are they really that thick?

Tom, Manchester
A solution? I know that I speak for thousands of other downloaders by saying that we download illegally because it gives us access to high quality MP3s that simply aren't available on the likes of iTunes. I'd happily pay to use a 'legal' Oink, where the quality of music was as good as it was on the CD - unlike on iTunes where it's vastly inferior.

Nick, Dorking
Nice one! So, I've got just over a year to get downloading! ;) I wouldn't be surprised to see the number of illegal downloads rocket this year.More seriously, I'm sure CD sales have slumped, but that's balanced out by the rise in availability of digital content. Does Mr Burnham have any figures for the increase in sales of legally downloaded music?Or revenue generated by live music and associated merchandise?The music industry certainly survived home-taping and I'm sure it will continue to make money off bankable artists and formats (e.g. X-Factor).