Le Figaro: La replique des ministres aux artistes qui defendent les pirates

The SNEP, the French equivalent of the RIAA, didn’t take long to respond to the manifesto issued by Le Nouvel Observateur (see previous post), asserting that music doesn’t need to be liberated, it needs to be respected. Unsurprisingly, there’s a profusion of French celebrities endorsing that side of the argument compared to the few famous signatories of “we are all pirates”.

Once again, we’re witnessing a dialogue of the deaf - no one is attempting to encourage piracy. On one side we have a movement asking for open debate and reflection around the subject and, on the other, an industry feeling threatened and grasping on to the safety of an economic model it knows.

The SNEP insist that their actions have only one aim: make online music successful. Making an example of someone by taking them to court for 13,000 Euros in damages is supposed to encourage online music purchases? I must have missed part of my history lessons.