AS a man who once celebrated adolescent behaviour in his song Teenage Kicks, it's fitting that Feargal Sharkey has been talking a lot about how young people access music today.
As the chief executive of the British Music Rights (BMR) organisation, the former Undertones frontman has been getting on his soapbox about the need to stamp out the illegal downloading of songs.
It's a practice that's certainly helping most teen
agers get their kicks these days.
The average teenager's iPod contain more than 800 illegally copied songs, according to BMR research.
Their studies also suggest that half of 14 to 24-year-olds are happy to share all the music on their computer hard drives.
Sharkey and his colleagues are far from happy.
Those who are still buying CDs rather than downloading their music may wonder why copying a music file from one computer to another might attract so much attention.
But the bottom line is that in the eyes of the law it is a form of stealing and if your children are involved, then be warned, it could cost you dearly.
Sharkey recently highlighted the problem at the unveiling of a groundbreaking agreement between the UK record labels and those who provide internet services.
As part of this memorandum of understanding, those who provide home broadband have agreed to do much more to ensure musicians and their record labels do not miss out on getting paid.
This could mean that if your teenager uses any kind of software to download music from another computer for free, warnings will be issued and your internet service could be restricted.
"The problem's been around now for over five years and if anything it's getting worse," says Scots entertainment lawyer Murray Buchanan.
"The music industry's been looking at various ways of trying to prevent this for years and the logical thing was always to use the internet service providers to exert pressure on their customers."
Tracking down the culprits is easier than you may think.
Your computer has a unique number which leaves a trace behind when file-sharing software is used to download music tracks.
If they see the number of your computer on a file-sharing internet site, then those who provide your internet service could use it as proof that your computer has been used to illegally access music.
The first time a parent might know what their child has been up to is when a letter drops on to the doormat from the broadband provider to tell them when the offence took place.
Next, if they fail to take a stand, or their teenagers ignore them, then parents could find their internet use closely monitored and their internet speed being reduced to such an extent that it will make it difficult to download large files.
Ultimately, it is hoped that parents and their children will heed any warning that comes so that court proceedings will not need to be taken.
Filing for financial damages is a hard line that the music industry is now reluctant to take because of its unpopularity with fans. A few years ago, in the United States, rock giants Metallica and rap star Dr Dre also lost credibility when they joined the campaign against illegal downloads by launching actions against those using the file-sharing site Napster.
Murray, of solicitors Murray Buchanan and Co. adds: "It was always recognised that simply penalising people wasn't in itself going to be the answer, you had to offer people an attractive alternative so that doing the right thing as far as the record companies were concerned made sense to the consumer."
That alternative has been to make buying music cheaper and more accessible via commercial websites like iTunes.
Another solution being debated – although not part of the BMR agreement – is the introduction of a flat fee.
This could see customers paying an additional £1 a month on top of their broadband or mobile bill in exchange for the right to download as much music as they want.
"You can see that for many consumers that would be hugely attractive," says Murray. "You might think that can't make much sense for the record companies but actually the economists have done the maths."
The amount of money being made by the record industry has been in decline but this deal could reverse its fortunes. Indeed, if 50 per cent of those who currently have broadband decided to pay the £1 a month, then it has been calculated that the money generated would be akin to profits being made eight years ago.
"To some extent the whole thing about illegal downloading has been driven by a feeling among many record buyers that the cost of CDs had become too high," adds Murray.
"I think over time more people will acquire broadband than currently have it and also a greater proportion of them will sign up to the £1 a month."
For parents, keeping track of what teenage children are up to has never been easy but if you value your internet service and don't want the music police to come knocking it perhaps it may soon be best not to turn a blind eye.
The full article contains 871 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
