June 21 last month was World Music Day and round the world there were celebrations to commemorate this happy occasion. Fete de la Musique or World Music Day was first celebrated in France at the turn of the Summer Solstice, the first day of summer but in India by then summer is over and the rains have set in. But the spirit of music can never be dampened by rains, in fact it adds a different dimension to the enjoyment of music. Music is for all seasons and occasions, and it will always prevail over elements and everything else under the sun. We should turn this day into a national RainDance to celebrate life.

Music plays an important role in our day to day lives. Life is hectic and time bound, daily chores need to be done, kids need to be packed off to school and you need to get to office in time. Its common for people to start the day by tuning in to the radio or music player, as the music makes  it that bit easier. On this day then let us remember  and pay our tributes to the great composers and musicians past and present for their contribution to society and humankind.

Sadly, though music is such an indispensable part of our lives, the very Industry  that brings the music to us, doesn’t have much to celebrate about on World music Day. Revenues have been declining over the last decade to a point where music companies can barely hope to survive.

We were in China last month for the annual  Asian Conference of the IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) to discuss and review issues related to piracy and licensing for the digital media for the Asia/Pacific region. Some of the findings of the conference indicated that there was a marked shift in focus in piracy issues in Europe as compared to Asia. While P2P file sharing was on the decline in Europe internet piracy was still a major issue with uncontrolled music sharing through cyber locker emerging as the new threat. In Asia physical piracy continues to be a major menace but in the future the challenge will be in controlling the free flow of illegal music in the mobile and tablet/iPad platforms.

 We at IMI hope that through the efforts of concerned agencies, the Government and with the participation of consumers, we will be able to curb piracy that has all but destroyed the Music Companies. 

- Savio D’Souza