Exec Elwyn Raymer slams online piracy of Christian music

THE PRESIDENT and CEO of America's Church Music Publishers Association, Elwyn Raymer, led a lobbying visit to Washington DC in support of the Protect IP Act (Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property). Intended to allow action to be taken against overseas "rogue" websites that use music without permission, the proposed legislation has been endorsed by entertainment and artists groups, but opposed by some human rights and consumer organisations. Supporting the legislative effort in an article for congressional newspaper The Hill, Raymer said that given the church music world's limited means for enforcing copyrights against foreign infringers, "our community is particularly imperilled by the assault the creative community has faced over the past years."

A longtime member of the board of the Gospel Music Association, Raymer said in his article that a decade ago, three to four times the number of Christian and gospel songwriters working today were writing and making a living creating new music. The reduction in their numbers was felt across the community with less music and fewer recording session contracts. The accompanying business, legal and accounting professionals that serve the musical community's needs were "scrambling," he wrote, but the loss was not just economic. It was cultural and spiritual, too, he said. "What would have happened had some of the writers of the great hymns in the early days not been able to have their music released?" he told Christian Retailing. "We would not have the benefit of some of those great songs."

He told how Christian music publisher Brentwood-Benson Music Publications had been forced to downsize from more than 60 employees to 20 "due in large part to lost sales and royalties for their songwriters as a result of digital theft." Raymer also cited another company in the industry - which he later identified as Integrity Music - which had been valued at $50 million seven years ago, "but was recently forced to sell of 100% of its assets after seeing revenues plummet" in part to digital theft.