IFPI Advises Kids to Use LimeWire and Kazaa
Written by Ernesto on May 11, 2008Together with the charity Childnet, IFPI recently launched a campaign to educate kids, teachers and parents about the dangers of filesharing. Ironically, the legal alternatives they suggest direct the kids to LimeWire, Kazaa and sites that sell hardcore adult movies.
The campaign’s leaflet (pdf) is distributed through schools and colleges, libraries, record stores, teaching portals and websites in 21 countries. It advises kids and parents about the dangers of filesharing, and advises them to use the legal music online stores, which are listed on pro-music.org, with the aim of keeping kids safe online.
IFPI proudly announced their new campaign a few weeks ago, writing: “The campaign comes as millions of people take advantage of the explosion of new ways of accessing music digitally, but still lack clarity on safety and legal issues, on finding legitimate sites, on the basics of copyright and on how to unpick the jargon of digital music.”
IFPI has always been concerned with the safety of children, and on pro-music.org they maintain a list of download stores that are ’safe’ to use. I was of course curious about these legal stores, and since i’m from the Netherlands, I decided to give the Dutch legal stores a try. This turned out to be an interesting experiment.
To my surprise, the first 4 sites on the list were all gone, some had quit, and others redirected to websites that didn’t sell any music. Even worse, commodore.nl -the first site on the list- served ads for a scam site that sells filesharing software.
I finally got something that looked like a music store when I got to the fifth link, dance-tunes. However, when I searched for the latest Radiohead album, nothing came up. The site only has a few mp3s, and nothing of my choice.
The journey continued, and with sixth site, download.nl, I finally found some good music. Interestingly however, the songs I found were not for sale. Instead, I was advised to download LimeWire, Shareaza and Kazaa Lite. This may indeed sound a little confusing, but the IFPI apparently wants kids to use filesharing software after all.
So, to sum up my legal music experiment. I tried the first 6 sites advised by IFPI, 4 didn’t sell any music, the fifth only listed a few songs, and the sixth website I tried advised me to install LimeWire or Kazaa. It gets even worse further down the list where the kids end up at sites that sell hardcore adult movies.
Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media said about the new campaign: “The new guide is a very good example of an initiative that offers simple, practical advice to parents and teachers to keep young people safe and legal while enjoying music on the Internet.
I guess she didn’t try it herself.
Screenshot of a music “store” promoted by IFPI
Previously: Shareaza Stands Up To Scammers: “We’re fighting back!”
Next: Best-Selling Author Turns Piracy into Profit
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I can tell the Danish section is just as bad as Netherland. Bad links, links to sites that dont sell music…. You get my point ;)
To my surprise, the first 4 sites on the list were all gone, some had quit, and others redirected to websites that didn’t sell any music. Even worse, commodore.nl -the first site on the list- served ads for a scam site that sells filesharing software.
Gee, how can anybody accuse the IFPI of being behind the times?
…Snicker…
Remember how it was a popular trend in the mid to late 90’s for people to put their bookmark files online? I think some of those websites, which haven’t been updated in over 10 years, probably have a better dead-url-to-live-url ratio than the IFPI’s little list there.
Good work, John Kennedy. I’m just counting the days until the first “you directed my child to porn!” lawsuit.
great job ifpi..
they want you to use limewire because it is easier to get you whey you are using that then when you are using bit torrent
There’s a lot of freely distributable material on Gnutella (the thing you call LimeWire) not just MPAA material. It is after all just a file distribution system technically very close to the world-wide web except without the common HTML front-end. Everyone who argues file-sharing - no matter with what software or technology - is bad, immoral must just as well condemn the world-wide web and the internet itself. Maybe even Philips for inventing the digital audio CD or maybe the guys who made music recordable. You know what? Sue them all, let god sort’em out.
The IFPI should be for file sharing every marketer knows that viral marketing like word of mouth is the most effective.
Share your music and video discoveries with your friends but use BT alternative, anonymous friend to friend p2p http://www.Dargens.com .
I’m guessing this is what happens when you only accept businesses that are willing to pay you for a mention.
If they had been trying to find real legal free music sites they would have Jamendo or Magnatune both of which have Creative Commons music and probably some of the ones listed in the top 10 here:
http://www.musicouch.com/Musicouching/Music-Rules-Top-10-Music-Websites-That-Delivers-Greatest-Free-Music.122475 (although some of those have commercial music on them so might not be in IFPI interests.
The Swedish stores seems to be OK. The one called NajzPrajz (some kind of phonetics for nice price), the number one album listed is:
Alela Diane
The Pirate’s Gospel
Which I found kind of on topic.
They have ebay on the North American list. EBAY?!!!
hilarious!
They want kids to use easily traceable file sharing programs like Limewire and Kazaa to they can record you downloading,log your IP and sue their ass’s. Hopefully by steering kids towards “Folder Sharing” clients you’ll be easier to catch,instead of the needle in a haystack that is BitTorrent. Rather clever of them if I don’t say so myself.
A follow up article is written here if you are interested, it gives TF original credit for the article and goes a bit more indept.
some of it might be a little old news to regular TF readers though… :)
http://ezee.se/articles-blog/2008/05/11/music-industry-to-kids-dont-download-music-__-__-download-porn_-_viruses-and-malware-instead/
Cheers!
I love how the bastards reference Creative Commons as a secondary “don’t-take-our-money” thing.
This is the biggest piece of copynazi propaganda I’ve seen in a while. I hope it comes to my school and they round us up for an assembly.
“Any questions?”
Umm, yes. Why should we listen to a company working with people who are ripping off artists and consumers daily? A company that has fascist roots in Mussolini’s Italy? If it’s our right, which it is, to enjoy media, whose right is it to take it away?
“Umm…I just got the pamphlet thingie…”
Figured so.
How do they think they can stop it? In a grade of about 80 people, only 7 think it’s wrong to get media w/o paying the people making it. And they’ll soon learn. The people who are growing up to make the laws don’t think it’s wrong…guess what will happen in about 20 years when your neighbor who got an RIAA C&D letter becomes a Congressman?
Bye-bye, copyright.
I think it’s entrapment, they want people to download the massive viruses that have been spreading around p2p nets. Don’t do it.
My nephew loaded Limewire on his new laptop. In 2 days he collected 27 viruses 7 different. 67 spywares, 39 different and several other forms of malware Includibg 2 rootkits! I am currently reformatting his hard drive as none of the popular AV or anti spyware progs were able to remove all of them. The IFPI exec that made that proposal should take his own advice.
They are cloning these kids.
So they can help spread the viruses.
That they themselfs put on p2p.
Look at the latest rash. Download
a “codec” to play your mp3 with.
These noobs dont know about vlc player. If your mp3 file wont play.
Delete it and run a scan.
Good advice from Uncle stemcell
just shows how much these idiots know about the internet i mean anyone with half a brain would at least check the links out if they are working if they are what they say they are before going ahead to print and start mass printing flyers and then preaching to the school kids/parents about it.
really shows me just how much these clowns understand how the interwebs work!!!
Probably as much as Senator Ted Stevens … the internet is just like dumping everything on a big truck lol that speech just killed me
well as the article said, apparently, they didn’t try it themselves. That’s usually the case. They give guidelines, new laws, new rules but they haven’t really ever tried it. Their decision to put up a program like that probably came from some lazy employee who tunes in to imeem while working.
Not that I have anything against imeem don’t get me wrong. Just the laziness.
Way to be hypocrites…
Why aren’t they encouraging them to use bittorrent since they bought it? I don’t think they care if kids try downloading top 10 “songs” with Limewire as there’s more trojans, viruses, spam, scam, & fakes than it’s worth; the big4 being the main culprits (probably the only). But they’d like to frustrate them even further by first misdirecting them to scumware sites.
Plus they have a deal with Limewire that redirects all searches to their pay sites, and there’s no way to filter them out. Obviously they feel this will make them lots of cash as well as frustrate file sharers no end
Anything with an mp3 extension can’t cause an infection. If an mp3 won’t play just delete it. No harm done. I think VLC player is for movies. I use WinAmp 2.95 for music
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