SALE OF PIRATE CASSETTES OF ‘AID’ SHOW TO BE BANNED IN INDONESIA?
Indonesia will consider a request by British rock singer and promoter Bob Geldof to ban the sale of pirate recordings of the Live Aid benefit concert for Africa, a foreign ministry official said Tuesday.
Geldof complained to the Indonesian Embassy in London on Monday that Indonesian makers of the tapes were not passing along royalties meant to relieve the famine in Africa.
An Indonesian Foreign Ministry official said Geldof’s protest would be considered when details were received this week in Jakarta.
The ministry official, who asked not to be named, said Geldof asked Indonesia to remove all pirated copies of the Live Aid concert from the market and donate the money collected from a government tax on tapes already sold.
Cassette dealers in Indonesia say they have no legal obligation to pay royalties, regardless of whether the money is meant for recording artists or charity.
“Geldof realized he could not do anything legally,” the official said. “But he asked for our cooperation.”
Indonesia is not a member of the International Convention on Copyrights, which regulates the distribution of royalties from tape and record sales.
Pirated copies of the Live Aid concerts went on sale for about $1.50 each in Indonesia and several other Asian countries shortly after the concerts last summer.
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