The BPI: Yes we Cannes

The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) launched a new Copyright Protection Portal at Midem in Cannes this weekend.

At a press conference on Saturday 6th June, the trade body unveiled the new service, which aims to help labels, musicians and businesses see where illegal copies of their music are being made available online and also to track how BPI is responding.

Commenting on the tool, Director of copyright protection at the BPI Dave Wood said: “The BPI’s Copyright Protection Unit is always exploring new ways to ensure music is enjoyed legitimately online. In such a fast-moving digital sector, we have to be ahead of those who feel it is justified to illegally distribute music and make money off other people’s creativity”.

Wood continued: “The daily updating of this Portal will be critical in helping us to protect more music repertoire than ever before and we hope that the industry will work with us to ensure it does the job it has been set up to do”.

This tool will be available free of charge to all BPI members alongside PPL performers and members of The Association of Independent Music (AIM) who are registered with PPL. As alluded to above, users will upload their repertoire into the system and will then be able to view the ‘pirate activity’ that has been prevented and where the BPI have been laying the smackdown.

In other BPI news, it was also this week announced that streaming data now features in the organisation’s Platinum, Gold and Silver Awards programme.