Facing the music, but . . .

T

HERE’S an appearance of disinterest from those closest to the issue of music piracy in New Zealand.

It extends to the body bringing charges, the tribunal hearing them and even the individuals pinged.

No-one seems to care much. Strange really, given all the chatter when the three-strikes copyright regime was introduced three years ago.

The issue is back in the news as another person has been fined for sharing music tracks, the first case for 11 months.

Why the gap? Because the outfit that brings the charges, Recorded Music NZ, lost interest. After successfully bringing 17 pirates to account, it deemed the high cost of doing so compared to the penalties handed down was not worth it.

Its interest won’t be much renewed given this latest case, where the individual has to pay just $738 all up, costs included.

The Copyright Tribunal’s lack of enthusiasm is thus portrayed. It has the ability to award costs up to $15,000, but the highest to date is $914.

Really? If it was serious in helping the music industry it could have sent a strong message and awarded the maximum in each case, given the people before it have had three warnings.

There’s a lack in deterrent too, in that offenders aren’t named.

And then there are the offenders themselves, who have all basically rolled over when charged.

No rebels for the cause have emerged. None has even appeared to argue their case. At best they scribble a note to the tribunal that, um, ‘‘I’ve had six new flatmates and they each had their own computers and I didn’t know what they were doing, and I didn’t take note of the first warnings because I have a brain injury and don’t read too well’’, which was the excuse of the most recent culprit. Can’t understand that one not washing. Yet, strangely enough, the law actually seems to have had a positive effect, on two fronts.

First, the initial discussion scared the heck out of ordinary folk, who warned their kids not to get them into trouble through illegal downloads. And secondly, it encouraged the setup of legitimate download sites.

Also, it may have prompted music lovers to think about what they were doing, while the industry itself has also seen ways to legitimately use free downloads to their advantage.

The penalty regime may not be working too well, but the climate it has produced is.

Tra-la-la.