Wider Music Community: Indonesia’s ISPs to block illegal download music sites

It is important for the music community not just to concentrate on what’s going on in our spheres of music distribution. We must also understand what the wider music community is doing. All over the world people listen to music, make new bands and want to discover new music. They sell music online as they learn how to promote a band. The trouble is, most of the audio samples are illegal download music and this is causing a terrible crisis in the music distribution industry. Music websites like Songeist.com are making an effort to try and change this. It’s important that the music community take responsibility for music distribution. We need to take charge. We need to buy and sell music online so there can even be a music distribution industry. How can musicians eat if they aren’t paid for their work? Even when they sell music online it gets plagiarized. It’s a very difficult situation. So what can the music community do?! In Indonesia they think they have the answer.

The Indonesian Internet Service Provider Association (APJII) plans to block all music websites that allow visitors to download music illegally, in a bid to protect the local music distribution business’, APJII’s chairman, Semmy Pangerapan, said on Thursday. This way the music community will not be able to listen to music, download music or hear audio samples if the music distribution has not been legal. This sounds like a great idea. In Indonesia it will be easier for new bands to learn how to promote a band and sell music online. Downloading illegal audio samples will be regarded as a criminal offence. It is stealing. We as the music community should understand that new bands cannot be made if we continue to download music illegally. The new music will simply not be made if the artists can't sell music online. The music distribution industry will be killed along with the creativity. The time is now, music community, to stand up and do something about it so that new bands will be able to have a future. They will also need to learn how to promote a band in the age of audio samples, though! It’s not just about sticking with the status quo. To sell music online in this day and age is the only way to make any money. People are not buying CDs anymore. But how do we stop people from stealing download music? Music websites like Songeist.com are doing their part to win the war on illegal audio samples. Now, music community, what are you going to do?

The process will be similar to the clearing house, where we close access to unauthorized content, so local new music and new bands will be more appreciated he said during an APJII conference in Denpasar, Bali as quoted by kompas.com.

APJII members will utilize a platform to control intellectual and property rights, payment gateways and content aggregators. Therefore, when a customer decides to download music that has been pirated, its Internet Service Provider (ISP) will receive a notification to block the content. This is a great idea that should be adopted in the wider music community. With this system it is easier to sell music online and therefore more new bands will be able to form and new music will be made. We need new music! Music is very important and the music distribution industry should be respected like any other.

The blocking scheme, he said, was backed by the 2008 Law on Information and Electronic Transactions.

The decision will also help ISPs expand their music distribution businesses, as some of them are currently developing business schemes where they gain profits when people download music legally

This [blocking] will also educate people to respect copyright [law], Semmy said.

The association, which oversees more than 200 ISPs, did not, however, mention when the blocking will be introduced. Indonesia is home to 30 million Internet users.