Corrs join net piracy fight

The Corrs want to see an end to internet piracy

Chart-topping band The Corrs have joined the international campaign to outlaw music piracy on the internet.

The Irish quartet have replaced Jean Michel Jarre as the official voice of the European music industry as it battles to stop the illegal recording and downloading of songs from the web.

The news comes two days after stars in the United States joined forces to form Artists Against Piracy, taking out full-page adverts in the major national newspapers.

Jarre has precicted that by the end of the year music fans will be able to download a complete CD in just 10 seconds.

Jean Michel Jarre fears for the future

Corrs guitarist/keyboard player Jim Corr said: "Most people would not dream of stealing a CD from their local record store. In the same way, we don't think it is cool to go cyber-shoplifting."

The International Federation of Phonographic Industries, which looks after recording artists, estimates there are more than 25 million illegal music "files" available for trading on the internet.

IFPI chairman Jay Berman told a press conference in Brussels the whole of the European music industry was under threat from piracy.

And he urged governments to reconsider a proposed new EU directive which would allow "private copying".

Berman said: "Not every copy is a private copy. There is nothing private about 200 million people on the internet mass-producing your music.

"And it is not private copying if businesses are making copies without the consent from the artist or the record company."

Protected

The IFPI claim around 600,000 jobs within the industry could be at stake if drastic action is not taken soon.

Sharon Corr, vocalist and violinist with the family group, said: "It is not just the musicians.

"A lot of time, effort and money goes into the production of our CDs, involving record producers and technicians whose interests have to be protected."

Jim Corr revealed that more than 18,000 illegal Corrs music files and 17,000 Jean Michel Jarre files were found on the internet in an eight-hour period.

"We have done OK," he said, "but we have got to protect the new artists who need the capital to keep going."

In America, things have already moved on a step further, with rock band Metallica and hip hop star Dr Dre both suing MP3 music-sharing company Napster for copyright infringement.

Other stars, including Christina Aguilera, Blink-182 and Garth Brooks, have joined the Artists Against Piracy campaign, but MP3 and Napster can boast support from Chuck D and Limp Bizkit.

The Corrs are joining Jean Michel Jarre, Phil Collins and Spice Girl Melanie C at the IFPI's Platinum Awards ceremony in Brussels on Thursday evening.

The awards honour musicians who have sold one million copies of an album in Europe