Piracy hot spot Bangladesh bootlegged to bankruptcy
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DHAKA — Bangladeshi pop icon Azam Khan has amassed legions of fans and dozens of hits over a 40-year career — but he’s always flat broke because of rampant music piracy.
When the 61-year-old star, revered for modernizing the staid Bangla music scene in the 1970s, was diagnosed with mouth cancer this year he had to beg fans, including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, to fund life-saving treatment.
“I’ve recorded 17 best-selling albums over my career but I have made less than 700,000 taka ($10,000) in royalties,” Khan told AFP from his sickbed in his modest two-bedroom house in the capital Dhaka.
“If I’d had this many hit albums in Europe, I’d own a private jet. In Bangladesh, rickshaw drivers will sometimes give me a free ride out of pity,” he added.
Khan’s experience is an extreme example of a broader global trend: Demand for music is rising, but street piracy through counterfeit CDs and online piracy means profits for record companies and artists are being hit..... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20101117com6.html
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