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Once again, U2's Bono has begun the New Year by announcing that he'd like not only like to have his cake, but that he intends to gobble it all up. By himself.
If you've emerged from the festive season with less than normally alert hypocrisy sensors, prepare for an instant recalibration. This is from the BBC.
Writing for the New York Times, Bono claimed internet service providers were "reverse Robin Hoods" benefiting from the music industry's lost profits.
He hinted that China's efforts prove that tracking net content is possible.
If I get this right, your man is saying that ISPs are robbing from - ahem - penniless artists like Bono, to give to themselves. And to suggest that the answer lies in totalitarian technology (it doesn't by the way - it's too flawed) is utterly gobsmacking.
The most grotesque bit, though, is the phrase 'reverse Robin Hoods'. This is coming from a man who benefited from an Irish tax loophole that meant U2 paid no tax on royalties until 2006. And, when it looked as though they would have to, they moved their tax affairs to the Netherlands to pay a much lower rate of tax than the stupidly low 12.5% they would have had to pay in Ireland.
There's nothing illegal in this, of course. But one does have to wonder how ethical it is to choose not to pay millions of dollars in tax in one's home country, effectively depriving the Irish Government of income that would in part be used for social welfare. It's also hard not to consider the possibility that tax havens are used for illicit flows of finance out of developing countries, as suggested by Richard Murphy of the Tax Justice Network.
Diverting money from the poor to give to the rich? That's putting rights before responsibilities if you ask me - a sort of 'reverse Robin Hood' if you prefer.
Something tells me that Bono won't see it that way. Internet freedom, anyone?
Ben Locker is a freelance writer who has contributed to a wide range of publications, from The Times to local newspapers and magazines. He has been blogging in various corners of the Internet since 2003, and is as interested in the mechanics of the web as he is its content.
A magazine journalist and qualified teacher, he has spent much of his career working for education charities and other voluntary sector organisations. He became a freelance writer in early 2006 and now runs a popular copywriting agency.
Ben is particularly interested in the craftmanship of writing, and most enjoys helping others crystallise their ideas in the right words. His first book, a satire of which he was co-author, was published by Atlantic in 2007.
(5) comments
Comments
This post is easily one of the most entertaining that I have read in a while. I don't think anyone could have said it any better than you just did.
There seems to be an unspoken rule with wealth; there more you accumulate, the more hypocrisy you must show.
As for your comment regarding totalitarian technology; you're completely right that it won't work and should not be considered as a worthy solution to this 'problem'.
Once again, nice post.
P2P steals from these artists who are finally making a decent living from their art. If you don't like Bono, don't buy his music. support your local artists who are just trying to make an honest buck on the Internet.
Bono is a pompous asshole for all I care, and it'd do a great deal of good if he kept his trap shut tight !
He would be wise to advocate for reasonable download costs. Right now it costs more to download a CD than it does to buy one. This is outrageous because internet downloads cost little in comparison with the cost of creating, shipping, and retail markup of a physical CD. When download costs approach real value, nobody will have a perverse incentive to fileshare.