The Featured Artists Coalition (FAC), which campaigns for the protection of performers' and musicians' rights, has announced its opposition to an amended government proposal that would force UK ISPs to disconnect customers suspected of illegal downloading (original news). The unexpected move pits popular artists directly against their own labels.

However the coalition, which includes many recognisable names such as KT Tunstall and Radiohead, is no stranger to tackling big labels. Indeed their core aim has always been for all artists to have more control over their music and a much fairer share of any profits generated in the digital age.


Instead the FAC continues on to state that the proposals would also be very costly to implement and fail to differentiate between the downloading and sharing of music by music fans, on a non-commercial basis, and those who seek financial gain or commercial advantage from such activity.


This refreshingly different opinion from artists themselves is unlikely to be greeted warmly by big music labels, which still continue to believe that 7 Million Brits have been involved in illegal online file sharing (P2P) activity; despite that figure being exposed as misleading (here).

On the other hand it is also true to say that piracy should not merely be ignored, indeed some of the other technical proposals (e.g. blocking P2P sites, limit connection speeds etc.) were not totally unfair. True, it is easy to avoid restrictions like that, yet many casual consumers would still lack the knowledge to do so.

Similarly the argument that somebody who downloads 1000 illegal tracks may never have brought that many in the first place are fair but equally imperfect. The problem is not caused by the 1000 tracks they download so much as the 5 they now no longer need to buy.

Still, it is pleasing to see the FAC "vehemently oppose" new plans to get even tougher than the original Digital Britain proposals (here), which haven't even been given the chance to prove themselves. The FAC believes that the new proposals will alienate consumers and move the stick too far away from the carrot.