[Infowarrior] - Bono = the next Lars Ulrich?

[Richard Forno]

  January 3, 2010 4:40 PM PST
Bono risks becoming next Lars Ulrich
by Greg Sandoval
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-10423544-261.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
Ever since Paul McGuinness, manager of the rock band U2, began lashing  
out at Internet Service providers two years ago for allegedly  
profiting from and encouraging illegal file sharing, U2 fans have  
wondered whether McGuinness spoke for the band.

Bono, U2's outspoken frontman, cleared that up this weekend. As part  
of a op-ed piece in The New York Times, the singer argued that online  
file sharing is hurting music and film creators and placed much of the  
blame on bandwidth providers.

"A decade's worth of music file-sharing and swiping has made clear  
that the people it hurts are the creators," Bono wrote, "in this case,  
the young, fledgling songwriters who can't live off ticket and T-shirt  
sales like the least sympathetic among us."

Bono's comments are surprising. Most artists haven't come close to  
publicly criticizing file sharing for fear that they could alienate  
fans the same way that the band Metallica did when the rock group  
filed a copyright lawsuit against Napster nearly a decade ago. Lars  
Ulrich, Metallica's drummer, was vocal in his distaste for those who  
shared Metallica's music without paying for it and the band was widely  
criticized for their antipiracy stance.

U2 has appeared willing the past two years to let McGuinness take the  
spears and arrows for speaking out against file sharing. In an  
interview with CNET last spring, McGuinness, the band's manager for  
more than two decades, riled some of the free-content crowd when he  
said that "ultimately, free is the enemy of good."

McGuinness has typically saved his harshest rebuke for bandwidth  
providers, who he said "bear a huge responsibility to put things  
right." Bono also ripped into ISPs for not doing more to help protect  
copyright.

He said the people benefiting most from online piracy are those  
running telecom and cable companies, "whose swollen profits perfectly  
mirror the lost receipts of the music business."

The film and recorded-music sectors have lobbied and cajoled the top  
ISPs, which they consider to be in the best position to block pirated  
material flowing freely through their pipes, to create file-sharing  
deterrents. The ISPs have appeared reluctant to do much. For example,  
the Recording Industry Association of America has tried to enlist  
their help in creating a system whereby participating ISPs would  
gradually ratchet up pressure on suspected file sharers. The RIAA  
promised a year ago that it had agreements in place.

So far, no partnerships have been announced. Negotiations continue but  
many in the music industry are weary of the perceived foot dragging of  
ISPs. Is that the source of Bono's frustration?

Bono and McGuinness know how it looks to some fans when the richest  
band in the world starts complaining about lost profits. But both men  
say they aren't speaking out for the benefit of U2, which McGuinness  
acknowledged is rich and makes a load of money off concert tours and  
merchandise sales. Bono and his band manager suggest that they are  
arguing on behalf of talented acts that have not yet made a name for  
themselves but would be harmed by file sharing.

"Note to self," Bono wrote in the op-ed piece. "Don't get over- 
rewarded rock stars on this bully pulpit, or famous actors; find the  
next Cole Porter, if he/she hasn't already left to write jingles."


  Greg Sandoval covers media and digital entertainment for CNET News.  
He is a former reporter for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles  
Times. E-mail Greg, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sandoCNET 
.