Andrew Lloyd Weber Trashes The Internet As 'Somalia Of Theft And Piracy'

from the stick-to-the-music dept

Nathan was the first of a few folks to send in the news of Andrew Lloyd Weber's quotes complaining about how the internet is the "Somalia of unregulated theft and piracy." Funny. I thought Somalia was the "Somalia of unregulated theft and piracy." Lloyd Weber seems to make the same basic false economic assumption that many other folks have made: believing that the only way to make money is through the direct sale of recorded music. So he bemoans the fact that sales are down, and immediately blames piracy and (of course) ISPs for enabling it. He doesn't take into account things like how internet connectivity has actually made the market more efficient (which should lower prices) and the overall competition for entertainment dollars has increased greatly (while the music industry has done little to give people more reasons to buy). But, most importantly, he seems totally unaware of the fact that there are other business models beyond just selling recorded music. His claim that the music industry in the UK will be dead in 10 years is silly. Does he think that no one will pay him to write music for plays anymore? Oh... whoops, right there is a perfect example of a different way to pay for the creation of music.

Filed Under: andrew lloyd weber, piracy