No Rock And Roll Fun

FLY MAN, FLY: Dave Rowntree, out of The Blur, is standing for office in the forthcoming Musicians' Union elections. Apparently he was spurred to take a political stance after getting a round-robin from the BPI trying to bark up artists support for Jean Michel Jarre's copyright-campaign. Describing the approach as "loathsome and vile" he continued ""The BPI doesn't represent people in bands. "It works with and is entirely controlled by record companies and quite often their interests are at odds with bands" The BPI counter that "The BPI does represent record companies - but they have to look after their artists and represent their interests" - which has to be bollocks, of course - how on earth can an organisation designed to represent employer's interests also nurture those of the employees? It doesn't work that way in teaching, say, where Head Teachers and their staff are enrolled in different bodies, to avoid the inevitable conflict of interests that could develop otherwise. The BPI shouldn't be apologetic - its role is to ensure that its members squeeze every ounce of profit from the raw materials of music - but it's ridiculous that it pretends to be simultaneously cherishing those raw materials.
Blimey - he's not so quiet after all [BBC News Online] - Lets just hope his first job isn't representing Coxon in a constructive dismissal suit