Expert: Piracy is threat to music industry

By WANPIS AKO
PIRACY and the advancement in the information, communication and technology (ICT) areas in PNG have posed a potential threat to the local music industry, an expert said last Friday.
“To counter that, local musicians are advised to employ new business models to keep the music industry alive or if not they lose the business,” Professor Marco Gercke, an international criminal
lawyer, said.
Gercke encouraged artists, for instance, to perform live to generate greater income.
He referred to one example in Germany where authors had books duplicated and published by others.
He said that was instrumental in providing an environment for competition between them and the books were sold at lower prices.
“It discouraged the artists to lose the business or they had to resort to new business models to counter piracy,” he said.
He warned locals to become cautious of foreigners filming their cultural dances and uploading the videos on the social networks for viewing globally.
He said it was classified as piracy and might discourage tourists from entering Papua New Guinea because they had already watched it.
He said it was a threat to the tourism industry.