The Bookseller.com

9th January 2009

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Authors must be paid for downloads

04.03.08 Tom Tivnan

The majority of the public believe writers whose works are subsequently made available online should be paid fairly for the digital re-use of their work.

That was one of the findings of a survey by the Authors' Licensing & Collecting Society (ALCS) presented last week at the inaugural meeting of the All Party Writers Group (APWG), the forum of MPs which discusses matters of importance to writers.

Fifty-five percent of those surveyed said writers should be paid for downloads. Of these, 70% said they would be willing to pay a "reasonable sum" for downloads.

Dr Ian Gibson, MP, the chair of APWG, said: "It's enormously encouraging. If there is consumer will to make sure writers and other creators are rewarded for the work they create which is then made available on-line, it will be far easier to look after writers and ensure they are given fair recognition and reward for their contribution."

The ALCS survey found that 55% of respondents owned an iPod or MP3 player and a further 8% owned other handheld digital media players. Of those questioned, 28% admitted they had downloaded material without paying for it.

Owen Atkinson, c.e.o. of ALCS said: "In 2006 illegal downloads were up 46% on the previous year and are set to rise again in 2007. We need to resolve this issue urgently as writers are losing out every second of every day as people access increasing quantities of downloaded material."

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