AIM shows Mandelson support

11:32 | Wednesday September 23, 2009

With the deadline on Lord Mandelson’s consultation on filesharing legislation looming, the indie body has told the Business Secretary that it “strongly supports” the Government’s proposals to reduce P2P through a range of proposed technical measures, including suspension of a filesharer’s account.

AIM chairman and CEO Alison Wenham writes in her letter to Mandelson that her organisation “greatly appreciate(s) your firm and clear statements as to the basic moral, as well as business, issues raised by illegal online filesharing and piracy. After lengthy consultation, reporting and debate the time had come for a decisive statement both of principle and of legislative intent from Government, and we welcome your authoritative intervention.”

Wenham says the filesharing issue and how to tackle it have been “vigorously” debated at board level, but now is the time to act because many of her member companies are seriously impacted by the actions of “serial” uploaders.

She writes, “AIM cannot make the point too strongly that these predominantly small – in some cases tiny – music businesses are overwhelmingly reliant on making a fair and honest return on their recorded music output…These businesses absolutely deserve business-orientated legislation which creates fair opportunities for them to monetise the creativity in which they invest, and earn a fair return for themselves from that investment.”

On the Government proposals, which would see ISPs employ technical meaures, she writes, “We support provision for a range of sanctions which can be invoked proportionately including, with necessary safeguards, the suspension of individual broadband accounts as a last resort against the most persistent offenders.”

AIM’s move follows an escalation of the industry’s infighting over how to deal with persistent filesharers. Last weekend the Featured Artists Coalition broke off from negotiations with record labels on a joint position, to say it is opposed to “terminating the internet connections of individual music fans.”

That move – and the signals it sends the Government and Mandelson’s Department for Business Innovation and Skills - infuriated many in the industry, who are understood to be preparing a further letter to the Business Secretary demonstrating the industry’s commitment to his proposals.