UK record labels’ body the BPI has given its backing to a global campaign that was launched today by children’s internet charity Childnet, with support from the international music industry. The campaign aims to promote safe and legal music downloading amongst young people by providing guidance to parents and teachers.
While millions of people access music online in the UK, recent research shows that many young consumers lack clarity on safety and legal issues and have trouble identifying which sites are licensed and safe.
Childnet’s new, pocket-sized guide “Young People, Music and the Internet” aims to address this issue, and also carries information on the basics of copyright and the jargon that surrounds digital music.
The guide will be distributed nationwide to parents and teachers via more than 5,500 schools, 2,300 libraries and 125 UK music retailers including Zavvi. It will also be supported by a viral online campaign.
The campaign has received backing from the international music industry coalition Pro-Music and is supported by the UK government.
According to recent studies:
- One third of young people regularly download music from peer-to-peer (p2p) networks[1], three times more than the proportion of those using licensed, safe and legal music services.
- Parents and teachers are commonly unaware of how young people are getting music. Six out of ten 9-14 year olds who use the internet to download music do so without parental guidance[2].
- A recent UK government-commissioned report[3] highlights growing adult insecurity in teaching young people about an environment they do not feel they understand themselves.
- While teens love new technology, three out of five women aged 35-44, many of whom are mothers, feel confused about digital technology. Half feel they are getting left behind.[4]
- p2p networks are a major source of viruses and malware, behind almost one in five of all potential infections[5].
- Just one illegal download can result in the unauthorised installation of Trojan software, spyware and pop-ads that can have a severe impact on the computer’s performance.[6]
Singer Ronan Keating lent his support the campaign:
“I am a father of three young kids who are all very interested in music and computers, they are forever asking to use the computer to download their favourite songs. There is a constant worry about the security of the internet with children. This new guide helps adults and children to use the internet safely and securely. The internet is a fantastic tool for us all to enjoy.”
Welcoming the publication of the leaflet, Kevin Brennan MP, Minister for Children, Young People and Families said:
“The recent Byron Review confirmed that it’s really important that we support teachers and parents to understand what children are doing online so that they can help them manage the risks and get the most from new technology. The Byron Review highlighted the generational digital divide. We need to help adults bridge that gap, and also help young people to understand that the virtual world is not a valueless world, and that it is important to respect the rights of others online including around cyber bullying and illegal downloading.”
BPI Chief Executive Geoff Taylor added:
“While many parents are happy to leave downloading music to the kids, this can create problems for those parents who want to be sure their kids are using the internet legally and safely. Even though there are plenty of licensed, safe and legal digital music services available, illegal downloading is still widespread, and there’s a lack of decent information out there for parents and teachers. But we hope that this campaign will help fill that gap, de-mystify music on the internet, and encourage more people to start downloading legally.”
- ENDS -
For further information, contact the BPI press office on 020 7803 1395.
The BPI (formerly British Phonographic Industry) represents the British recorded music business.
http://www.bpi.co.uk/
- EDITORS NOTES -
- The leaflet has been written by Childnet International, with advice and support from Pro-Music and Net Family News. This latest initiative by Childnet follows on from its first guide for parents about P2P, file-sharing and downloading, published in 2005.
For updated advice for parents, including the latest on P2P see http://www.netfamilynews.org/
- Childnet has been an active member of the UK Government’s Home Office Task Force on Child Protection on the Internet since its inception.
- For further information about child safety online see Childnet’s http://www.chatdanger.com/ resource which gives advice for young people on a range of online interactive services including Instant Messenger, mobiles, games and chatrooms.
- The guide will be available at http://www.pro-music.org/ as well as http://www.childnet.com/music, where parents, teachers and young people will be able to access more information on a comprehensive music microsite.
It aims to:
Unpick the jargon surrounding online music
Explain how to download without exposing the computer to viruses & security risks
Show what you can copy onto your computer
Explain where to find legal sources of music
Clarify the basics of copyright and why it’s relevant to online music
Give tips; features a pull-out card covering the basic dos and don’ts
About Childnet International
Childnet International is a registered charity, (no 1080173) set up in 1995 - with the mission to work in partnership with others around the world to help make the Internet a great and safe place for children.
http://www.childnet-int.org/
http://www.childnetacademy.org/.
http://www.digizen.com/
http://www.kidsmart.org.uk/
About Pro-Music
Pro-Music is an international music sector education campaign about digital music. This guide is supported by pro-music member organisations representing musicians, performers, artists, major and independent record companies, publishers and retailers across the music industry. The Pro-music alliance was set up in 2003 to help improve understanding of copyright on the Internet and to promote the legitimate online music sector.
http://www.pro-music.org/
About Net Family News
Founded in 1999, Net Family News is a US-based non-profit public service for parents, teachers and caregivers of connected kids. Its mission is to bridge the digital divide between grownups and their tech-literate children.
http://www.netfamilynews.org/
[1] “2008 European Next-Generation Digital Music Services”, by Jupiter Research, says that 34% of 15-24 year olds use p2p, more than three times the rate of legal service usage among the same age group.
[2] “Kids & Digital Content”, NPD Group, January 2008 (Based on US consumers)
[3] The Byron Review into Children and Technology “Safer Children in a Digital World”, Dr Tanya Byron, March 2008
[4] 2008 Digital Entertainment Survey from Entertainment Media Research and Wiggin
[5] “Symantec EMEA Internet Security Threat Report”, April 2008