Arctic Monkeys turn their backs on P2P?

soulxtc: zeropaid.com
April 2, 2007
http://www.zeropaid.com/news/8583/Arctic+Monkeys+turn+their+backs+on+P2P%3F

It was file-sharing that helped them distribute their music to listeners for free but, now it seems that profits are their biggest concern.

The first real breakthrough act of the download era, the band that used MySpace and file-sharing to build their audience, has now apparently secretly employed Web Sheriff to make sure that their new album, "Favourite Worst Nightmare," stays off P2P and file-sharing networks.

It's being reported that V2, the band's record label, has hired Web Sheriff, the London based P2P and file-sharing network copyright monitor, to protect against the Arctic Monkey's latest album from spreading across the internet.

John Giacobbi, the managing director Web Sheriff said that “They were looking at up to one million illegal MP3 song files spreading of an album which was supposed to break the band internationally.”

Now to be fair, it's not entirely clear that the Arctic Monkeys were involved in the decision to hire a company to remove it from file-sharing networks but, considering that file-sharing is in large part responsible for their success in the first place, it definitely seems ironic that somebody is trying to kill off that which made them what they are today.

Alex Turner, the band's guitarist, noted a few years back that file-sharing is what catapulted the band to fame, that the press, radio and television were almost circumvented entirely in the group's audience-building process.

"We'd record these three-song demo EPs and give them out at shows. Soon people began posting the tracks on websites, and the songs quickly spread to various bulletin boards and Internet forums. It was definitely those people posting and swapping our songs online who were responsible for the early groundswell of attention," Turner acknowledged.

"As technology keeps moving on, there've been some real changes in the way people are finding out about new bands and hearing music."

So why the sudden change? Well, now that they've "gone legit," so to speak, and are signed with a recording label, it's a natural progression that somebody's going to want to protect their profits and their investment.

But, is it really a good thing? Do they risk turning off their audience if they suddenly seems as corporate and regulated as all the others? Maybe, maybe not but, I guarantee you that if people start receiving notices for posting the band's content illegally that they risk losing the core audience that's responsible for them getting a record deal in the first place.

It seems like a biting the hand the feeds you sort of decision on their part but, like I said, perhaps, and hopefully so, it's their label that's to blame for the decision and not theirs. Yet, I can't help but wonder if ignorance is a good enough excuse to be free from blame.

In any event, I'd like to hear what the Arctic Monkey's current position on file-sharing is, and what they think about their label's decision to go after those that post their new album online.