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Muse's Matt Bellamy answers Lily Allen's call to arms over illegal file sharing

He wants to meet Lord Mandelson with Allen 'for breakfast' to discuss the issue

September 17, 2009 | 9 Comments
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Muse frontman Matt Bellamy has emailed Lily Allen after the singer posted a MySpace blog urging her fellow musicians to take a stand against illegal file sharing.

In a new blog on her MySpace page, Allen published the email from Bellamy, in which the Muse man explained his vision for the future of file sharing.

"My current opinion is that file sharing is now the norm," Bellamy wrote, adding that internet service providers [ISPs] "are not being taxed by the copyright owners correctly".

Bellamy then compared the internet to radio and TV, both of which pay copyright owners a fee for using material they do not own. "Broadband makes the internet essentially the new broadcaster. This is the point which is being missed," he stated.

"Also, usage should have a value. Someone who just checks email uses minimal bandwidth, but someone who downloads 1GB per day uses way more, but at the moment they pay the same. It is clear which user is hitting the creative industries and it is clear which user is not, so for this reason, usage should also be priced accordingly.

"The end result will be a taxed, monitored ISP based on usage which will ensure both the freedom of the consumer and the rights of the artists."

Bellamy ended his email by suggesting he and Allen meet with Business Secretary Lord Mandelson to discuss the case further.

"We should set up a meeting with Lord Mandelson as he is on this issue at the moment, I'm sure he would meet us for breakfast!"

Allen's initial blog saw her state her disapproval at comments made by the Featured Artists Coalition – which include members of Radiohead and Pink Floyd – that illegal file sharing should be embraced.

Patrick Wolf also declared his support of Allen's blog, saying he had been "really inspired" by it.

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Comments (9)

Add a comment

Museician

Sep 17, 2009

Matt Bellamy there sucking up to Prat Allen, Darh Mandelson and becoming the British Lars Ulrich.

boden

Sep 17, 2009

Matt, stick to what you know... I'm sure all those people hammering broadband using Xbox Live and PSN would love to be told that not only will they have to pay for their video games in shops, but then they'll have to pay a bandwidth tax on top. Not to mention all those megabytes downloaded each time I visit a webpage with a banner ad on it for your latest album on it.

MJWG37

Sep 17, 2009

Matt Bellamy's ideas are good but unfortunately I think they are probably unworkable. The vast majority of internet users in this day and age will be accessing content that requires high bandwidth usage. The 'email only' users will account for a very small % of overall internet users. But yes...it should certainly be ISPs, portals and other content providers who are taxed by copyright owners for the benefit of musicians. Some more thoughts on the file sharing issue can be found here:http://mediamusings-mg.blogspot.com/

BasculeTheFule

Sep 18, 2009

Can someone whack Bellamy with the clue-bat please? A less informed opinion on the Internet and file sharing you are unlikely to hear.(1) He thinks that he can find common ground with that loathsome fuck Mandy(2) he wants me to pay for his albums because I download several gigs a week, despite the fact that all of it is legitimately sourced.(3) apparently free downloads hurt emerging artists, which is no doubt precisely why so many emerging artists elect to make their music freely available.What's the matter Matt, not got enough millions in the bank for living a life that most people can only dream of?Want to 'sit down over breakfast' with power-vampires like Mandy so you can get some more?Go join Metallica in the old-irrelevant-and-confused-by-technology queue.Someone set Frankie Boyle on him.

BasculeTheFule

Sep 18, 2009

MJWG37: "But yes...it should certainly be ISPs, portals and other content providers who are taxed by copyright owners for the benefit of musicians."*sigh* I'm sick of ISPs being demonised for providing transport in cyberspace. They are no more responsible for the actions of people using that transport than knife manufacturers are for people getting stabbed - that lies firmly with the people buying the service/knife _and_ misusing it, not the people providing the service/goods in the first place, or those buying them and using them for legitimate purposes.

madmax2b

Sep 18, 2009

when i was a lad we taped the records, and i bet he did, so now it his money he shouting the odds.make a record that worth buying muse{frist time for everything}and your get the money.i buy a nice cd if i like it,but Â£15on the high street drove everyone to copy,with records the cover was like a poster and could persaude you to buy,who look at all the little cd covers?live music that the way forward radiohead you are right

redthehat

Sep 18, 2009

Ok, I have to add a few things here. I am a huge fan of Muse, and I am a major supporter of artists being paid the right amount.File Sharing is a statement. Artists get around 5 - 20 cents per album sold, which is ludicrous, considering they are the artists, not the labels. Sure, they sell themselves to the label the second that they make a deal, and most artists struggle to make a living after signing a record deal, unless they are lucky enough to make a serious living from touring. The RIAA is great at suing people for file sharing, such as the single mother in Minnesota who was recently fines 2 million for downloading 27 songs. Then, out of that 2 million, how much is actually given back to the real artist? And honestly, how does an artist lose 2 million dollars from 27 tracks? If anything, that would amount to no more than 30$ lost. File sharing is a stance against the industry, against DRM on the music that we buy that makes it so we have to buy a CD that we cant rip to MP3 to listen to on our iPods, then have to buy it from itunes riddled with DRM that makes it so we cant copy it to CD to listen to in our cars. Its about making a stance against copyright prevention software that is installed on the CD's that we buy that conflicts with certain operating systems and hardware configurations. If we cant get music the way that we should be able to listen to it, then we get it through a means that allows us to enjoy it. We then make the choice to buy it.I downloaded the new Muse album from a well known music torrent tracker when it leaked. I liked the album so much that I went and bought the CD from a local store (not a large chain store). The CD will sit here gathering cust as I enjoy the flac rip that I 'illegally' downloaded. And in all honesty, if someone were to give me a way of paying the band themselves for this CD so that they can actually get paid for their work, I would happily shoot them 30$ for the effort, as this is an awesome album. We are all looked upon as theives by people who are uneducated, and unaware of what is directly in front of them. We care about others. People heavily involved in the file sharing community have done what they will to try and spread the word. People like Trent Reznor, Moby, and Radiohead have embraced what we have to say and have experienced a soar in record sales and loyalty from their fans becasue they realise that by embracing our message, they are caring for the wider majority of their fans. This is the way it should be, and by making a statement on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, or whatnot, its simply uneducated and assumed. File Sharing is the future. If by some random chance Muse are listening to this, try putting your next single release on muse.mu for download, and let your fans pay what they think they should pay for it. You will then see what the message is, why we are spreading it, and why you should embrace it.Flame away, I wont be checking here, nor do I care for people who want to have a shot at file sharers for being theives, I see them as uneducated and blind to the world around them. Every album I have "illegally" downloaded that I enjoy, I have purchased. Same goes with games and applications that are fairly priced.

daniel_nyack123

Sep 20, 2009

so matt proposes i pay more for my higher usage, even though i downlaod music legitimately through itunes? well done mate, first the album, now this? low.