Here’s an addendum to MusicBlob’s list of awkward, risky or just puzzling statements from musicians, authors and music business people.

I’m making a new entry because of the length and also of the vehemence of the words, written by none other than U2’s singer and leader, Bono, which was given the role of guest Op-Ed in the New York Times.

Bono choose to make a list of “10 ideas that might make the next 10 years more interesting, healthy or civil”, ideas’ whose “potential to change our world” “seize” and “move” him.

At number 2 of his list is his call to action to defend the “industry” and fight filesharing.

When: 02/01/2010
Bono Vox (Paul David Hewson): a decade’s worth of music file-sharing and swiping has made clear that the people it hurts are the creators

Details:
“Caution! The only thing protecting the movie and TV industries from the fate that has befallen music and indeed the newspaper business is the size of the files. The immutable laws of bandwidth tell us we’re just a few years away from being able to download an entire season of “24” in 24 seconds. Many will expect to get it free.
A decade’s worth of music file-sharing and swiping has made clear that the people it hurts are the creators — in this case, the young, fledgling songwriters who can’t live off ticket and T-shirt sales like the least sympathetic among us — and the people this reverse Robin Hooding benefits are rich service providers, whose swollen profits perfectly mirror the lost receipts of the music business.

We’re the post office, they tell us; who knows what’s in the brown-paper packages? But we know from America’s noble effort to stop child pornography, not to mention China’s ignoble effort to suppress online dissent, that it’s perfectly possible to track content. Perhaps movie moguls will succeed where musicians and their moguls have failed so far, and rally America to defend the most creative economy in the world, where music, film, TV and video games help to account for nearly 4 percent of gross domestic product. Note to self: Don’t get over-rewarded rock stars on this bully pulpit, or famous actors; find the next Cole Porter, if he/she hasn’t already left to write jingles.”

Source: New York Times