THE BRITISH MUSIC INDUSTRY NEVER SLEEPS

It's being so cheerful that keeps the BPI going, of course. We don't know if they have a special department that comes up with things to whine about, or if it's part of everybody's job description to find three things to feel slighted about every day, but we have to tip our hats to their ability to keep up an almost perpetual procession of moaning that life isn't fair. Today, they kicked up some stink because they found adverts for Napster and iTunes on sites which the BPI believe were offering illegal downloads.

Well, yes, maybe some of the money from those adverts might go to subsidise illegal activities - but does that really matter very much? The BPI keep banging on about how they want people to use legal services rather than the dodgy ones; surely there's no better place to try and advertise your services to people otherwise tempted to use non-licensed download sites than on those sites themselves? If the BPI really wants people to change their habits, perhaps they could explain why it would make more sense to advertise only to the converted? More to the point, Napster - a service which the BPI often praises as being an example of good practice - is entirely founded on a brand name built on illegal downloads: how do they square that?

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