Is music the unacceptable face of capitalism?
- Author: Monica Horten
- Published: 03 April 2010
Lord Mandelson today accused the bankers of being the "unacceptable face of capitalism". Isn't this somewhat hypocritical, given that he wants the Internet industry to spend £500 million on an electronic fence to protect the rich in the music industry (ie, the Digital Economy Bill)? Is this acceptable when the country is virtually bankrupt?
A quick search of the Sunday Times rich list produces a veritable catalogue of rich musicians. These are the beneficiaries of the graduated response and website blocking measures proposed by Lord Mandelson in the Digital Economy Bill.
Estimates of the cost of Lord Mandelson's measures have been as high as £500 million. Moreover, the actual cost is not known, because ISPs will have to invest in new infrastructure to implement the measures in the Digital Economy Bill. That will take away money from investment in the broadband fibre network. And the Internet users will have to pay for it in increased subscription charges, as well as the threat to their rights to freedom of expression.
Moreover, an article in the Daily Telegraph today says that it will cost consumers £300 million as they will have to buy additional IT equipment to meet the obligation in Clause 14 of the bill to protect their Internet access.
I've pasted a sample of the the Sunday Times Rich list below, from the search results for musicians and others who have made their money from music:
Rank | Name | Worth | Source of wealth |
28= | Clive Calder | £1,300m | Music |
52= | Lord Lloyd-Webber | £750m | Entertainment, Music |
120= | Sir Paul McCartney | £440m | Music |
146= | Sir Cameron Mackintosh | £350m | Entertainment, Music |
178= | Simon Fuller | £300m | Entertainment, Music |
297= | Sir Mick Jagger | £190m | Music |
309= | Sting | £180m | Music |
322= | Keith Richards | £175m | Music |
322= | Sir Elton John | £175m | Music |
333= | Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas | £170m | Films |
388= | Olivia and Dhani Harrison | £140m | Inheritance, Music |
388= | Sir Tim Rice | £140m | Music |
406= | Jamie Palumbo | £130m | Entertainment, Music |
406= | Sir Tom Jones | £130m | Music |
426= | David and Victoria Beckham | £125m | Football, Fashion, Music |
438= | Eric Clapton | £120m | Music |
438= | Ringo Starr | £120m | Music |
438= | Simon Cowell | £120m | Music |
492= | Barry and Robin Gibb | £110m | Music |
503= | Phil Collins | £108m | Music |
To view the full list, go to The Sunday Times Rich List search page and type "music" in the search box.
Lord Mandelson's comments were reported by The Times .
- Article Views: 7571
IPtegrity politics
- Online Safety and the Westminster honey trap
- Shadow bans: EU and UK diverge on user redress
- EU at loggerheads over chat control
- Why the Online Safety Act is not fit for purpose
- Fixing the human rights failings in the Online Safety Act
- Whatever happened to the AI Bill?
- Hidden effects of the UK Online Safety Act
- EU puts chat control on back burner
- Why did X lock my account for not providing my birthday?
- Creation of deep fakes to be criminal offence under new law
- AI and tech: Asks for the new government
- How WhatsApp holds structural power
- Meta rolls out encryption as political headwinds ease
- EU law set for new course on child online safety
- Online Safety Act: Ofcom’s 1700-pages of tech platform rules
- MEPs reach political agreement to protect children and privacy
- Online Safety - a non-consensual Act
About Iptegrity
Iptegrity.com is the website of Dr Monica Horten, independent policy advisor: online safety, technology and human rights. Advocating to protect the rights of the majority of law abiding citizens online. Independent expert on the Council of Europe Committee of Experts on online safety and empowerment of content creators and users. Published author, and post-doctoral scholar, with a PhD from the University of Westminster, and a DipM from the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Former telecoms journalist, experienced panelist and Chair, cited in the media eg BBC, iNews, Times, Guardian and Politico.
Politics & copyright
A Copyright Masquerade: How Corporate Lobbying Threatens Online Freedoms
'timely and provocative' Entertainment Law Review
Online Safety
- Online Safety and the Westminster honey trap
- Shadow bans: EU and UK diverge on user redress
- Why the Online Safety Act is not fit for purpose
- Fixing the human rights failings in the Online Safety Act
- Hidden effects of the UK Online Safety Act
- Why did X lock my account for not providing my birthday?
- Online Safety Act: Ofcom’s 1700-pages of tech platform rules
- Online Safety - a non-consensual Act
- Online Safety Bill passes as US court blocks age-checks law
- Online Safety Bill: ray of hope for free speech
- National Crime Agency to run new small boats social media centre
- Online Safety Bill: does government want to snoop on your WhatsApps?
- What is content of democratic importance?
- Online Safety Bill: One rule for them and another for us
- Online Safety Bill - Freedom to interfere?