RiSA decries increase in music piracy during lockdown

RiSA says there has been an alarming increase in online music piracy since the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown on March 27.

“This is our desperate plea to the music-loving public to refrain from piracy and do the right thing by accessing music from legitimate sources,” RiSA CEO Nhlanhla Sibisi said. “The message has been sent out for many years, that piracy robs musicians out of what should be their hard-earned money.

“We ask music lovers to support real talent. Musicians make a living from the sales of their music and keeping piracy alive will only result in an impoverished music scene. We understand that the current lockdown in the country has left many in need of entertainment, but let’s support our artists the right way and not commit a criminal offence.”

RiSA said the songs that received the most infringements included big hits like ‘Emcimbini’, ‘Love Letter’, ‘Tender Love’, ‘Umlilo’, ‘Love You Tonight’, ‘You’re the One’ and ‘SAD’.

Legal downloads of top-40 tracks had decreased to 7 221 from an average of 8 170 since the beginning of the lockdown.

“At the rate things are going, there will be a lot of damage done by the time things go back to normal,” RiSA said. “Also hardest-hit is the popular award winning gospel ensemble Joyous Celebration. Their latest album Joyous 24 has been heavily pirated and songs are being shared on a WhatsApp line that is publicly asking music lovers to text so that they can receive the music.”