Malaysian minister warns that high CD prices fuel piracy
Published: 03 Jun 2003 09:23 BST
Anti-piracy groups in Malaysia are upset at comments made by a politician blaming piracy on the recording industry itself, through its policy of charging high prices for CDs and DVDs.
The refusal of recording companies to lower prices despite repeated calls by the government was helping fuel the trade in pirated movies, music and software, alleged the deputy domestic trade and consumer affairs minister, S. Subramaniam.
Music and movie companies were forcing consumers to opt for pirated versions, he said.
The minister pointed out that some genuine movie video CDs (VCD) -- a popular format in Asia -- cost as little as $2.60, indicating that some profit is possible even at that price. These cheaper discs also do not get pirated, he said.
"Those priced at RM$30 ($7.90) and above are normally the ones that get pirated. This proves that the price factor is the main reason consumers buy pirated CDs and VCDs," he told the news daily the New Straits Times.
Intellectual property rights advocates, such as the Recording Industry Association of Malaysia (RIM), are outraged at the minister's remarks.
Lam Tuck Seng, RIM's general manager told CNET Asia that the ends -- being able to help consumers by offering a cheap product -- did not justify the means.
"What is stolen is always cheap," he said, and disagreed with the minister's belief that consumers deserved a low price for CDs and DVDs.
Music and movies are luxury items and so should have prices fixed by the market and not the government, said Lam.
"Music, like movies is not a daily necessity. Hence consumers can make their own decision but there should not be a stolen market alternative," he said.
"In Malaysia, prices are fixed individually by the respective recording company. If one company fixes a price too high, it will find itself priced out of the market."
Lam said the RIM and its media partners have jointly issued a statement to voice their anger at what they described as a remark that was "unbecoming" of a minister.
However, he believes the minister's views are not widespread among government officials, and do not reflect Malaysia's stance on piracy.
"The Malaysian government has on occasions felt embarrassed by the continued pressure from intellectual property lobbying groups, but they have never endorsed piracy in any form," he said.
Malaysia, like several other piracy-plagued countries in Asia, is often a target of criticism from the US government and its anti-piracy organisations, who feel Asian authorities should do more to stamp out the theft of intellectual property.
Dropping the price of legitimate music, movies and software to help stamp out piracy is a solution which has long been proposed by consumer groups around the world, but one which the recording companies and its allies disagree with.
Asia, in particular countries like China, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, has been under constant scrutiny by intellectual property rights groups for being abreeding ground for pirated material.
Last year, the region accounted for 87 percent of the seven million pirated DVDs seized globally.
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