Somebody is making a total ass out of the UK music industry. Wippit CEO Paul Meyers has got his panties in a twist because some of the legal and big firms like Nat West, First Direct, Halifax, Microsoft, Renault, Vodafone, O2, KLM and NTL are advertising on the illegal music network, eDonkey. Now that is funny, because Meyers runs a legal download music service, though we have never heard of it so far. Last week, he got so upset that he sent an open letter to the music industry denouncing the practice, attaching screen captures of adverts on illegal download network eDonkey from each of the firms. Myers said: “ItÄôs sad when brands we expect to be responsible give financial oxygen to these pirate services. Conspiring to alienate a sector of your own customers and assist in destroying their livelihood has not yet been proven as a successful policy.”
Ads bought on adware are often sold through intermediaries on a blind buy basis [*], meaning those advertisers don’t necessarily know where their ads are served. Now, some advertisers no doubt turn a blind eye to these practices.
Also, who said the eDonkey network is illegal? And if that’s the case, in which jurisdiction?
[*] See http://www.hespos.com/archives/000277.html