Music piracy in Lebanon balloons 70pc

Despite recent legislation, music piracy in Lebanon has ballooned by a staggering 70 per cent in the last two years.

It has become such a problem that a high-level delegation of music industry representatives called on Lebanese Premier Rafik Hariri to find an effective solution.

The recording industry is calling for a greater political commitment from the Lebanese government. Immediate and strong enforcement action and the need to update laws to ensure adequate copyright protection and enforcement in Lebanon was also emphasised.

"We recognise the Lebanese government has undertaken limited steps to fight piracy, but more is needed at this time. We look forward to offering our expertise and assistance, working with the authorities to bring about a dramatic improvement in the music business environment," said Allen Dixon, general counsel and executive director of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).

"Piracy is a huge, criminal, cross-border business that does great damage to the music industry as well as to cultures and econ-omies, affecting investment, growth and jobs. The global recording industry is responding to this problem, but it needs help from governments."

According to IFPI, which represents the companies that produce and distribute more than 90 per cent of all recordings by Arab artists, piracy has affected the world sales of recorded music, which fell 7 per cent in value and by 8 per cent in units last year. Global sales of pirated recordings are worth $4.3 billion annually.

Meanwhile, IFPI had something to gloat about as Egyptian authorities confiscated nearly two million counterfeit music cassettes, said to be the biggest seizure in the Middle East.

IFPI, in cooperation with the Egyptian Central Association of Audio Producers (ECAAP), assisted the Egyptian authorities in coordinating the seizure, which followed a month-long surveillance of the illegal music copying operation. The cassettes were all Arabic titles owned by various Egyptian recording companies.

Egypt has one of the highest piracy rates in the Middle East at over 50 per cent.

Police who raided the apartment in Giza found pirates actively engaged in the duplication and printing process.

Along with the two million counterfeit cassettes, one million inlays, one million plastic tape covers, six duplication machines and two printing machines were also confiscated. Police arrested one of the accused at the scene and impounded a van used to distribute the counterfeit cassettes.

There is an investigation underway into other suspected piracy operations believed to be involved in the manufacturing operation. The case has been presented to the Prosecutor's office, which has ordered a committee from the Censorship Department to examine the seized music selection and report to the court.

With a market share of about 93 per cent, music cassettes remain the most popular music format in the Middle East. IFPI estimates that the level of piracy of Arabic music is about 35 to 40 per cent in the region and the percentage for the international music repertoire is slightly lower. About 80 per cent of the total legitimate market is Arabic repertoire, with the international repertoire taking 20 per cent of the market share.