The Philippine Online Chronicles

Speaking on dzMM's Todo-todo Walang Preno on Thursday, singer Kuh Ledesma disapproved of Filipinos illegally downloading both local and foreign songs for free.

The 30-year veteran singer said she considers downloading "an act of stealing,” and that times were better when downloading was not rampant. She added that she and other Original Pilipino Music (OPM) artists are praying for a way to circumvent illegal downloading and asked for the stoppage of the amateur taping of live concerts and the posting of the same as clips on YouTube.

An ardent supporter of the local music industry, Ledesma earlier called for the regulation of concerts of foreign acts in the country. A report on January 3 says she urged lawmakers to devise ways to protect the interests of Filipino artists in the face of the popularity of such international acts as Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber, who are holding concerts in the country in February and May, respectively. Ledesma is holding hers on February 12 and 13.

However, she was quick to add that she does not necessarily demand that foreign acts be banned from performing in the country. “I'm not for banning. I love watching great artists from all over the world.”

Furthermore, she suggested that February be made a festival month for OPM, in the same way as December is for local films.

Singer-songwriter and Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit member Ogie Alcasid has also voiced similar sentiments. Echoing Ledesma's suggestion to regulate non-local acts, he added that higher tax rates must be imposed upon visiting artists and that taxation of local concerts must be lowered.

Singers Martin Nievera and Sarah Geronimo meanwhile opted not to be affected by the problem posed by foreign acts performing here.

Some artists opt to make their albums available for free on the Internet as legal downloads. In 2000, Rivermaya gave away their album “Free” on the web, In 2010, the band also gave away a song for free in order to promote an album. Lipad was part of a bonus CD that students with valid identification cards can get upon the purchase of Rivermaya's official album Closest Thing To Heaven.

Advocates of free MP3s say that piracy is not really a bad thing, and that it would help the music industry instead of destroying it. While some people rip one or two tracks from YouTube, for example, they also buy more music via legal means, said Lev Grossman on Time.