Germany launches first national pro-music website

August 14, 2003

Germany has launched the first national pro-music website, www.pro-musicorg.de, in the second phase of the recording industry's ongoing public awareness initiative to promote legitimate online music and confront the myths surrounding online music piracy.

Germany is the first country to offer its own, German-language version of the international website www.pro-music.org which was launched earlier this year.

The German recording industry associations launched the website at music fair Popkomm in Cologne on August 14.

IFPI Chairman and CEO Jay Berman said: "The first phase of pro-music was to develop an international resource for news and information about legitimate online music and inform people about the damage caused by the illegal copying and distribution of music. The second stage was always to develop locally-orientated websites in different countries.

"Local repertoire is vital in our industry. In Germany in 2002, German artists accounted for 45% of the music sold in the country. With the launch of www.pro-musicorg.de the music makers and producers in Germany can talk directly to music fans about supporting their local artists and musicians so they can go on creating the music that means so much to the German people."

"Music is the most exciting content on the internet", said Gerd Gebhardt, CEO of the German recording industry associations. "More and more online services offer music fans a great variety of music to download legally."

He added: "The objective of this initiative is to support the discussions about online offers of music with facts. Artists, songwriters and those participating in the process can only make a living of music if the fans pay for it. Anyone who has understood these principles will, in future, look more critically at the illegal offers of music on the internet."

Like its international counterpart, pro-musicorg.de contains six sections: Making Music, Artists Speak, Music Online, Viewpoints, Free Music? and On Copyright. The sections take a look at what goes into the production of music behind the scenes, contain views about online music from artists and industry professionals, show a historical timeline of the development of online music, and give answers to frequently asked questions about copyright laws for online music. The site also aggregates links to the growing ranks of legitimate music services offering in excess of 200,000 songs in Europe alone.

The international Pro-music website www.pro-music.org was launched in May with the support of an international alliance of musicians, performers, artists, major and independent record companies and retailers across the music industry.

For further information: Hartmut Spiesecke, IFPI Germany on (mobile): +49 (0)172 435 6235. Fiona Harley or Julie Harari at IFPI on +44 (0) 7878 7900