29th October 2004 OPEN LETTER TO THE UK MUSIC INDUSTRY FROM PAUL MYERS Dear Music Industry, I am calling on you to follow me and boycott brands and companies that support illegal file sharing networks. If you’re supporting a company that is not supporting you or they are supporting a business that aims to put you out of business by giving your property away for free, follow me by dumping them until they change their ways. You may be surprised to know that current advertisers on the most popular P2P eDonkey who now steadfastly support copyright theft with real cash money include Nat West, Vodafone, O2, First Direct, KLM, Microsoft (Expedia and bCentral), ntl, Renault and Ask Jeeves. And they’re also getting a little extra help from the Halifax. (Want proof? Here are the ads) They obviously don’t give a hoot about us or our businesses, so let’s show them what we think of them. If you bank with Halifax, Nat West or First Direct, withdraw your cash and tell your branch manager why you’re going to Barclays. If you book flights through Expedia, try Kelkoo or Opodo instead. Flying to Amsterdam? Forget KLM, go easyJet. Go for a test drive in a Renault, have some fun, crunch the gears and then tell the salesman why you’re not buying the car. Because their company supports copyright theft and you don’t! I’ve already started dumping these companies starting with Vodafone, Bank of Scotland (owned by Halifax) and KLM who all have branded items in pieces sitting in my bin. (If you want proof, check out the slasher video) Let’s show these guys who’s boss. The customer! Thank you