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BPI responds to Conservative and Labour election manifestos

By Chris Cooke | Published on Monday 22 May 2017

So, now The Great Escape is over, I guess I need to actually pay attention to all this electioneering that is going on; remember that #GE means ‘general election’ not ‘great escape’; remind any Brits going to MIDEM that it clashes with the #GE so you need to sort out a postal vote; and finally maybe read some of the manifesto gubbins that have now been published in one form or another.

On the latter front, UK record industry trade body the BPI is one step ahead of me, and has already digested the manifesto commitments made by both Team Corbyn and Team Mayhem, saying that it “welcomes the commitment in both the Conservative and Labour manifestos to ensure sustainable business models and a level playing field for the creative industries”.

The BPI spokesperson added: “The ‘value gap’ – certain online platforms exploiting a lack of clarity in copyright law to avoid paying fairly for content – has acted as a significant brake on the growth of the digital music business. Action is required at both EU and UK level to correct this distortion and to allow creators to share fairly in all the opportunities of digital connectivity”.

Concluding, the spokesperson added: “We also strongly support the commitment in the Conservative manifesto to a new regulatory framework for digital companies, social media platforms and content providers, to ensure that they behave with the same responsibility that is expected from businesses in the offline environment and protect consumers from illegal and harmful content”.

Yeah, good look with that Team Mayhem. Strong and stable, strong and stable.