File Sharing and the CMCC

The usage of the term “File Sharing” is very biased today. Most people think about software like Napster and eDonkey, or about the violation of copyrights and the fight of record labels against those infringements. However, File Sharing was one of the original functions of the internet, allowing its users to make personal or business documents available for other people over the internet. The bad image that File Sharing has throughout society today arose from the growing violation of copyrights because users are mainly sharing music, films and software that are under license. Due to these infringements, there were severe financial losses within the music, film and software industries.

However, there are groups that do not support the campaign against File Sharing, even though they are part of those loss-making industries. One of those groups is the Canadian Music Creators Coalition (CMCC, http://www.musiccreators.ca). CMCC is a union of Canadian musicians, including Avril Lavigne, Sum41 and the Barenaked Ladies among many others. They claim that record labels do not speak for their artists but for their shareholders and therefore do not pursue the same objectives.
Their main principles are:

• Suing of Fans is Destructive and Hypocritical
• Digital Locks are Risky and Counterproductive
• Cultural Policy Should Support Actual Canadian Artists

The CMCC values the independence of artists and does not want the labels to speak and act in their names. They appreciate File Sharing as a new opportunity for the music market in general as well as for new and unknown artists which can reach a much broader audience online. However, their objective is not to allow File Sharing in general but to develop a fair system for trading music online.