Pupils to get Anti-piracy Lessons

Abstract

British Music Rights (BMR), a group that represents songwriters and composers, is sponsoring a program to educate British schoolchildren between the ages of 11 and 14 about copyright and music piracy. The group has put together education packs that include lessons about copyright, royalties, and downloading music on the Internet, as well as how these issues affect the creation of original work. Music piracy in the United Kingdom is blamed for a steady decline in recent years in CD sales and for significant financial losses to recording companies and to artists and songwriters. In addition to limiting copyright violations, the education packs, which have been requested by more than 1,600 schools, are designed to prepare children for possible careers in the music industry. Guy Chambers, one of the songwriters who has publicly supported the BMR campaign, said the education packs will help shield young people who might pursue a career in the music industry from "unscrupulous" individuals.