The Internet: opportunities, not threats, for developing-countries musicians

Musicians in developing countries have much to gain and little to lose from the digital and Internet technologies that the major international recording and publishing industries view as the core enablers of piracy. But to realize those gains they need more control over the copyrights to their recordings and compositions, UNCTAD argues in the
Talent counts; but who benefits?

Digital technologies have had a great impact on the economies of music production. High-quality recording and production tools running on commodity PCs are widely available at prices that have become realistic for artists in many developing countries. A number of free and open source software tools for music creation and production are being continuously refined and provide advantages from an access, learning and cost perspective. Thus, the cost structure of music production is shifting towards paying for human ability and know-how, rather than for equipment and facilities. The history of the international recording industry shows that developing countries are full of talent and ambition and that technology has assisted in the globalization of country genres, such as the Brazilian and Jamaican varieties. The question remains as to who ultimately benefits, and how technology can tilt the odds in favour of artists and musicians in developing countries.

The total earning capacity of a musician will depend on optimizing the mix of revenues coming from recording royalties, composition royalties, merchandise sales and live performances. As the UNCTAD report points out, technology has effects that are perceived and real, as well as positive and negative, on each of these revenue sources. Actual physical piracy - the production and distribution of counterfeit CDs and tapes - is clearly damaging. But the "majors" in the international recording industry insist that Internet-based and p2p technologies damage sales of CDs as well, although recent research casts some doubts on these claims. But because the majority of CDs do not recover the advance paid to artists, musicians do not earn much either, and thus the issue of perceived losses due to Internet technologies and p2p-related piracy is a moot point.

Retaining copyrights is fundamental to exploring alternatives and embracing new technologies. Policy efforts, says the E-commerce and Development Report, should support the discovery of musicians and musical cultures using the Internet and digital technologies and avoid generating anxieties about losing out on possible but actually improbable stellar earnings from international CD sales. While modern systems for copyright protection and royalty collection are needed in developing countries to develop strong national markets and interact with the international entertainment industry, policy makers, music industry professionals and musicians should give careful thought as to the extent to which stronger copyright law and protection works in the interests of both creators and audiences.

Artists should also consider whether improved discovery and performance income are not in fact preferable to income from royalties, which frequently proves to be minimal. To that end, the use of Internet technologies, including p2p file-sharing, online distribution, and adopting open or public licences, such as those proposed by the Creative Commons initiative, warrant consideration.

See also UNCTAD/PRESS/PR/2004/039 for a more general look at Internet use by developing countries.



Endnotes

1. The E-commerce and Development Report 2004 (Sales No. E.04.II.D.42, ISBN 92-1-112653-3) may be obtained from UN sales offices at the addresses below or from UN sales agents in many countries. Price: US$ 45.00. Customers wishing to obtain quotations for large quantities should contact the sales offices. Please send orders or enquiries for Europe, Africa and Western Asia to United Nations Publication/Sales Section, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, fax: +41 22 917 0027, e-mail: unpubli@un.org ; and for the Americas and Eastern Asia, to United Nations Publications, Two UN Plaza, DC2-853, New York, NY 10017, USA, tel: +1 212 963 8302 or +1 800 253 9646, fax: +1 212 963 3489, e-mail: publications@un.org, Internet: http://www.un.org/publications .

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