THE MUSIC INDUSTRY DOES IT AGAIN

As the IFPI tries to close down illegal online music services, it's managed to get one site off the web. Unfortunately, it's a legal one - Tiscali has become so fed up with the IFPI's attitude, it's axed its music offering:

Tiscali.co.uk editor Richard Ayers said: "It's very disappointing.

"We were trying to develop a new and innovative service in order to increase the appreciation of music, and indeed the purchasing of music. It was clearly working."

He said there had been a 30% rise in purchases from Tiscali Music Club since it launched Juke Box.

He added that Mercora, which was a partner in the Juke Box service, had been running the same service in the US for more than a year.

"I don't quite understand why the European record labels appear to have a problem, whereas the ones in the US don't."

A Tiscali statement accused the industry of "short-sightedness... in not making any effort to understand either the basic needs or habits of music fans that choose to consume music via the internet, or the acts directly benefiting from this promotion".

It also said: "The industry's conservative attitude makes any collaboration for the promotion and marketing of any type of legal, innovative service very difficult."

Amongst the IFPI's complaints was that the Juke Box offering allowed people to decide what music they wanted to listen to. Something, of course, the industry doesn't approve of.

music tiscali