Peter Gabriel

"Internet piracy, if it continues, will eventually hurt those who love to make music. Some of the young and minority musicians we work with derive most of their income from record sales. If this is all taken away, most of them are going to have to look for other work. There are many people trying to provide legal access on the net at much more reasonable prices. I support the Pro-music initiative to encourage people to find out for themselves what is available legally and decide if they think it is fair value or not."
Sophie Ellis Bexter

"Making music is not just my passion, it's how I make a living. Copying music from the internet without permission hurts countless songwriters and artists around the world and stops us from making a living. Please don't let that happen."
Roger Sanchez

"I'd rather give somebody something than have them take it from me. So copying music from an artist without their permission is robbing from them - and that's wrong."
Praga Khan, (Lords of Acid)

"It is turning into a catastrophe, especially for artists in our genre of music. We make techno music - so the guys are always playing with their computers. Our target audience are therefore 'techno-nerds' who download huge amounts. I can tell you that we have definitely lost 40% of our sales, and this is also due to the fact that we work a lot in the US.

If after 150 or 160 days work in the studio to make an album, people can download it for free, then all the work has been for nothing.

I think that people who propose this kind of thing should also hand over 40 per cent of their profits."
Brian Wilson, Beach Boys

"There are two issues here. First is the creative issue. When I decide not to release a piece of MY WORK, there is always a good reason for it. I created it, I should have the final say on whether it should be released or not. The other, of course, is obvious. It's the financial issue. I would never expect to hire anyone and not pay them for their services. When people buy counterfeits, the artist and the creator are not getting paid for their work. It's as simple as that. If my fans feel that I am unable to decide what work of mine should be released and feel that I do not have the right to make a living doing it, then why bother?

The bottom line is the fan who is saying, "Oh man you're the greatest," is in reality stealing from you and your family, and more importantly not respecting your judgment on what you think is appropriate to bear your name."
Swedish songwriter and music producer Gunnar By-Skoglund

"I won't give up my song writing - song writing is necessary to me. It's necessary to a lot of my colleagues too. For that reason I take every opportunity to discuss with people (young and old) how important it is to understand and respect copyright law. It seems to me that most people are interested in learning more about copyright and that's great! There are lots of people around the world just waiting for a chance to create something - to release it and manage it such a way that they can make a living. Sad to say many of them feel worried about the future.

Give full expression to your 'own' creativity - it will probably change your life."
Steve Harley

"You can't steal a live performance. If you go to see your favourite artists you buy a ticket, it can be £5 or £25 - but you pay for it. You can't steal a seat in a theatre. The reason you pay is because there are a lot of people working there that have to be paid - they've got kids to feed and bills to pay.

So don't steal the records either. It's not just the people on the road that matter most to me, because I spend so much of my time playing live shows. If there's half a million people plus who work in the music industry in Europe - their jobs are at stake. No money into the record companies - no money to produce records with. No engineers, no tape ops, studios out of work, studios close down - end of the music world as we know it.

And the end of the possibility for young people to come in to it and be creative. They'll be no money to support them, to sponsor them - the money won't be available.

We have to pay for our pleasures in life."
Roddy Lorimer, trumpet player

"I have been the trumpet player with Kick horns for the last 20 years. We have recorded for musicians ranging from the rock acts like The Who,The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and Deep Purple to indie style bands such as Blur, Suede and Supergrass and to the pop of the Spice Girls, Boyzone and Gerry Halliwell. All of this recording and arranging has been a wonderful learning process, which is ongoing - but for how long?

Most of the world's all time favourite albums took much studio time and therefore much money to produce. Most of the money comes from selling CDs. Remove the finance and you remove the facilities to record the great stuff. You also remove the workplace of the session musician. Downloading or copying illegally may seem a small crime but many small crimes amount to a horribly huge crime against the recorded music we claim to love."
Spanish composer/conductor Luis Cobos

"Piracy seriously threatens the future of young artists and the whole creative industry. It is an obvious violation of rights and intellectual property that hurts everybody in the music community."
Rachel Bolt, viola player

"I think most people would be surprised to learn that the number of backing musicians involved in hits such as Robbie Williams' Millennium and Gareth Gates' Unchained Melody totalled more than 40 musicians in each. I know - I was one of them! My point is that internet piracy may not be affecting the income of multi millionaire pop stars - but is jeopardizing the livelihood of ordinary musicians such as myself. Most of us (like anyone else) have mortgages stretching long into the future. The economics are obvious - if record companies cannot make a profit from record sales, then they cannot employ myself and my colleages for future projects."
David Vorhaus, White Noise

"Are you a shoplifter? Do you get your music 'for free' and without permission? Do you think there's a big difference? Don't be a hypocrite and say you don't shoplift, you only download, because it's really the same thing. Downloading without permission is stealing. People earn a living out of music, just like any other job - so please don't steal our livelihoods."
Presuntos Implicados

"When I was a child I always dreamt of being a musician and composer, to enrich life with songs, with lyrics and melodies to remember.

Just like I've done, I see every day many other people who try with their effort and talent to succeed in devoting their lives to the beautiful profession of music, but at the same time I also see how music piracy and illegal copying from the internet drowns the people earning their living in the music industry and therefore kills the only chance there is to be a musician or composer and live with dignity from their job.

Do not drown us, keep buying legal music. Do it for the sake of the dreams of the upcoming musicians."