No Rock And Roll Fun

HOW THE BPI CACKLE WHEN THEY RUIN A MAN'S LIFE: The tale of John Stewart, a former police superintendent, is an interesting one. He and his son had been making some pin money flogging dodgy CDs at car boot sales in Leeds. (It's interesting that even a former senior policeman - someone who's taken a solemn pledge to maintain the law - doesn't seem to be that bothered about a spot of CD piracy). The law caught up with him, and the courts passed their judgement: Stewart was given a sixteen month suspended sentence.

Now, this seems to be a fair sentence: for a man with his background, even the court appearance would have been enough to bring him shame and ruin his name and image. And, presumably, the courts were satisified that while what he did was wrong, it wasn't so very terrible. The sentence had been passed.

Now, the BPI are usually quite keen on the rule of law - they're certainly in love with it when it fits their worldview. But this judgement seemed to be lacking venegance to them - anti-piracy director of the BPI David Manning described the verdict as "laughable", and so they set about giving Stewart the kicking they believed he deserved, bringing a legal action to "reclaim" their "losses."

Manning explained their motivation:

"Stewart was a parasite who had amassed a small fortune at the expense of the British record labels who invest millions of pounds each year in new music. Having built up an illegal retirement fund at our members' expense, for him to get off was quite simply unacceptable."

Shortly before the whole thing was due to come to court, Stewart and the BPI came to an agreement where he'd pay ninety grand to the BPI in costs and damages. The BPI's response was somewhat shrill and gloating:

"Having re-mortgaged his home to pay the costs and damages claims against him, he now faces financial ruin."

We're not entirely sure how a man who had supposedly been "building up an illegal retirement fund" and "amassed a small fortune" would have needed to re-mortgage his home in order to settle: either, surely, he had a small fortune or he didn't? And is the British Music Industry really telling us that it sees its job not merely as reclaiming what it feels it has lost, but in leaving retired men in penury?