South Korea’s music industry succeeds in fending off pirates
CAN the battle against music piracy be won with sweeping new laws? In one country the answer appears to be yes. A year ago South Korea tightened copyright laws and allowed media firms to demand that warnings be sent to people who flout them. If they ignore three such warnings, their broadband connection can then be cut. This provided the model for “three strikes” laws subsequently passed in France and Britain. New figures from the South Korean branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) suggest the pioneering law has had an effect. Music sales rose by more than 10% in 2009, to $159m. In the music business any trend other than a decline is noteworthy.
It is a recovery from an extremely low base. South Korea is a leader in both broadband connections and piracy. In 2004 the American government put it on a watch list for failing to protect intellectual property. International media firms, which had been drawn to the country by the pan-Asian “K-pop” boom, wrote it off. …