Pakistani Musicians Claiming Piracy Is Worse Than The Taliban

from the guys-trying-to-kill-them dept

Tue, May 6th 2014 5:36am — Mike Masnick

We've definitely seen musicians overreact to the threat of infringement in all sorts of bizarre ways, but this may be the most extreme. Some Pashtun musicians in Pakistan are now claiming that piracy is worse than the Taliban -- and that includes a musician who the Taliban tried to kill. This is, of course, crazy. The Taliban, somewhat famously, has banned music in places where they are in control. In fact, just a few months ago, the WSJ had a big article explaining how the Taliban was directly targeting and silencing Pashtun musicians. It explains the real reasons for the problems for Pashtun musicians:

For centuries, Pashto musicians such as Mr. Alam were based in Dabgari Bazaar in Peshawar's ancient, walled inner city. Music shops lined the top floors of old two-story buildings with wooden balconies. The ground floors housed merchants who sold household material such as woven beds and embroidered cushions for newlyweds.

"The place was full of music shops—it was like a packed train," said 72-year-old Ustad Ahmad Gul. A musical prodigy who recorded his first tracks for Radio Pakistan when he was 8 years old, Mr. Gul had a shop in Dabgari for 18 years.

But amid the new climate of intolerance, the neighborhood's residents took the initiative to start expelling the musicians from Dabgari in 2004, said Mohamaed Ershad, an elderly shopkeeper there who sells cotton.

The musicians "had changed—they were no longer the old respected artists," complained Mr. Ershad, who at the time had rented his top floor to a musician. "There was dancing here."

When the musicians resisted leaving Dabgari, shops were set on fire and musical instruments flung to the streets. Police also barged into Nishtar Hall, the city's premium space for performing arts, during a concert and kicked the microphones as a live audience watched.

And, of course, the Taliban has also been known to behead large groups of people if they catch them dancing to music at a party.

So, forgive me for thinking that, perhaps, the Taliban is a hell of a lot more responsible for the problems of Pashtun musicians than "digital piracy." And yet, that's not what people in the article linked above are claiming.

Yousafzai, 44, has invested his life in Pashtun music, which is known for both its stirring and calming melodies as well as its emotive folk songs. In 2008, he survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban in his hometown of Malakand. But now he maintains that the militant group which considers music and entertainment un-Islamic is the least of his worries.

I have no doubt that it's difficult to be a Pashtun musician these days, but to blame it on piracy seems ridiculous given the circumstances. Even if there has been an increase in piracy, it seems that much of that is likely because of the Taliban going around, killing people for dancing and threatening to blow up music stores if they don't close down.

I recognize that "piracy" is an easy scapegoat, but it hardly seems like the appropriate one in Pakistan.

Of course, guess who is helping to spread the myth that Pakistaini piracy is the problem? Why, it's the US government, of course, in the form of the USTR! In its latest Special 301 report, it complains that Pakistan hasn't cracked down on piracy, and that its law enforcement should have more power to go after pirates even when the rightsholder isn't complaining.

Widespread counterfeiting and piracy, particularly book and optical disc piracy, continue to present serious concerns for U.S. industry. Pakistan should ensure that its enforcement officials can exercise ex officio authority without the need for a formal complaint by a rights holder, and should provide for deterrent-level penalties for criminal IPR infringement. Pakistan should also take the necessary steps to reform its copyright law to address the piracy challenges of the digital age.

Again, of course, if the US hadn't been so instrumental in helping the Taliban become more powerful in Pakistan over the last decade and a half, perhaps more music stores would have remained open and piracy wouldn't be such a big deal. But, no, of course the answer must be to push for stricter copyright laws. I'm sure that's a major priority for the Pakistani government right now...

Just the fact that this bizarre article claiming piracy is worse than the Taliban is coming out right at the same time as the Special 301 effort raises questions. It certainly sounds like the start of a concerted campaign to push for stricter copyright laws in a country that should be focusing on a lot of other things right now.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: copyright, music, pakistan, pashtun, pashtun music, piracy, taliban

35 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Ninja (profile), 6 May 2014 @ 4:39am

So in their view it's better to behead people dancing to their music, explode their shops, threaten their own lives than have their music reach all kinds of audiences all over the world even when such people couldn't afford their music or it simply isn't available in any other means.

The Taliban did a piss poor job it seems.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 6 May 2014 @ 5:40am

Just goes to show...
How little life is actually valued in some parts of the world.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 6 May 2014 @ 5:44am

Mass murdering terrorists in your country? Don't worry, stricter copyright will fix that.
Large portions of your people starving to death? Stricter copyright.
Neighboring country trying to invade? Stricter copyright.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Gabriel J. Michael (profile), 6 May 2014 @ 5:59am

Don't be silly
The U.S. doesn't give a hoot about piracy that affects Pakistani musicians. They even say so in the 301 report - they're concerned about optical disc piracy which presents "serious concerns for U.S. industry."

The Special 301 report isn't about promoting innovation, or even protecting intellectual property in general. It's about airing a laundry list of everything U.S. trade groups are unhappy about in the domestic policy of other countries. This is why 301 now complains about "the poor quality" of China's utility models and design patents.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 6 May 2014 @ 6:11am

that being the case, how's about asking them if they (the musicians) would prefer to defend themselves against an attack from a bootleg cd or a Kalashnikov!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 6 May 2014 @ 6:13am

What in the world did they DO to that guy to make him say that piracy was a bigger threat to him than the group that literally sent assassins after him?!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Guardian, 6 May 2014 @ 6:32am

lol
its beacause they are the taliban
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 6 May 2014 @ 6:32am

How long before the RIAA or someone comes out and says something totally asinine like...

"Filesharing is worse than child sex abuse!"

...?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 6 May 2014 @ 6:49am

What were they thinking publishing a report like that? If the Taliban sees it, they'll be on The Pirate Bay and Bittorrent before you know it. Will someone please think of the recording industry?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 6 May 2014 @ 7:23am

Re:
Probably made him listen to some Top40 radio station for a few hours.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 6 May 2014 @ 7:29am

Re:
You wouldn't rape a child.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 6 May 2014 @ 7:29am

This mean person on the Internet is worse then Hitler who killed people like me from my religion!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 6 May 2014 @ 7:34am

Re:
This is why the middle east can't have nice things
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 6 May 2014 @ 7:34am

Re:
Didn't one of them say that child porn was a good thing? I think there was something about it here on techdirt a few years ago...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 6 May 2014 @ 7:45am

three ring circus == tpp
Wonder no more why the TPP is so classified, and so secret,

"Taliban and AlCiaDuh negotiations."
[ link to this | view in thread ]
RadialSkid (profile), 6 May 2014 @ 7:48am

Re: Re:
That was a guy from some Danish anti-piracy group, but yeah, somebody in the industry did actually say that.

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100427/1437179198.shtml
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 6 May 2014 @ 8:08am

Who's words
In defense of the musicians, there is not a single quote in the article from a musician that mentions piracy. Every complaint quoted from the musicians is about poverty, not piracy. The only mentions of piracy are from "officials", and the writers of the article.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Seegras (profile), 6 May 2014 @ 8:26am

Re:
let me guess, they did something with a Kalashnikov to make him say that. Or maybe an M16. To his family.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Alien Rebel (profile), 6 May 2014 @ 8:40am

Target Confirmed
Given the level of force used against the Taliban, U.S. interests arguing that piracy is worse than the Taliban can only mean one thing; MPAA and RIAA have assembled a fleet of armed drones that are now warmed up and ready to deploy.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 6 May 2014 @ 9:44am

both are exhagerated to justify the actions they take then attempt AFTER, to make legal......they break the law of freedom then pass a "law" to retropestively make "legal" the actions they have no problems commiting, WITHOUT the specific law to say they have the legality.......now i ask you, IS THAT LEGAL?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
nasch (profile), 6 May 2014 @ 10:07am

Re: Re:
This is why the middle east can't have nice things

This is Pakistan (south Asia), not the Middle East.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 6 May 2014 @ 10:36am

You wouldn't download Detroit!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
John Fenderson (profile), 6 May 2014 @ 10:44am

Re:
Of course not. There are way too many viruses there.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Rekrul, 6 May 2014 @ 10:49am

It's both amazing and scary to see how large portions of the middle east are going backward instead of forward. The people there had more freedom 50 years ago than they do today, and the worst part is that it's not just extremist groups like the Taliban who want this. Apparently, a good portion of the general public approves of stricter laws and less freedom, all in the name of religion.

It would be disturbing enough if this were only confined to the middle east, but apparently it's also spreading to other countries which now have a large Muslim population.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
John Fenderson (profile), 6 May 2014 @ 11:07am

Re:
"It's both amazing and scary to see how large portions of the middle east are going backward instead of forward."

I'm even more amazed and scared that this is true in the US as well.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous, 6 May 2014 @ 2:27pm

Re: Just goes to show...
3 words: Roe versus Wade.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
gorehound (profile), 6 May 2014 @ 3:27pm

Remind me why we have anything to do with that filthy Nation.

Oh, probably some one is making profit somewhere.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
That Anonymous Coward (profile), 6 May 2014 @ 5:14pm

Quick look down to see a really pretty shark in the tank we are jumping.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
toyotabedzrock (profile), 6 May 2014 @ 6:24pm

Well it is better they fight about music piracy than join the Taliban. Amazing how fast money and idea of owning something changes your life goals.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
TechNoFear (profile), 6 May 2014 @ 10:38pm

If I was a Pakistani musician I would also say that piracy is worse than the Taliban.

Simply because 'pirates' do not burn your home down, kill your family and friends (or worse) just because you said something the 'pirates' did not like...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
PaulT (profile), 7 May 2014 @ 12:42am

Re: Who's words
Do you have access to the full article? Sadly, I'm not able to verify the text of the original source (as opposed to the snippets quoted above) due to an idiotic paywall.

Also, what kind of "officials" are the ones making that claim? Are they government officials, representatives of music organisations who supposedly represent musicians or something else? If they're a local label representative (for example), then they could be said to be stating that opinion on behalf of the musician even if those interviewed didn't say it directly.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Pragmatic, 7 May 2014 @ 6:04am

I seem to recall you telling us that copyright infringement and terrorism were being mentioned in the same sentence by our glorious leaders, Mike. Now that they've planted the idea, Inception-style, they're consolidating it, and this is the result.

We can expect more of the same, it seems. Please keep calling them out.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Pragmatic, 7 May 2014 @ 6:06am

Re: Re: Just goes to show...
3 words: Let Women Die

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/13/nancy-pelosi-protect-life-act_n_1009461.html
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Pragmatic, 7 May 2014 @ 6:09am

Re:
Copyright will solve all your problems, boy. If you've got straight pants, it'll give you flares. It's great for stripping wallpaper and getting fleas off your dog. Why, I was bald as a coot, but I rubbed a bit of Copyright on my bare head and what do you know? Everyone is calling me "Chewbacca the Wookiee" now. /sarc
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Zonker, 7 May 2014 @ 12:28pm

Apparently the Taliban's secret weapon against the Pashtun is Stephen King's "Carrie" with a stack of bootleg CDs.
[ link to this | view in thread ]