I think music piracy is great, says Robbie Williams
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Your support makes all the difference.When you are dealing with a notorious maverick such as Robbie Williams, you obviously need more than £80m hush money. EMI's new golden boy courted controversy yet again by announcing that he thought music piracy – which costs the industry millions a year – is "great".
Williams, who was said to have landed the most lucrative deal in British record history when he signed last year, seemed unperturbed by the fact that his comments were unlikely to endear him to his new record label.
If EMI thought that by making the outspoken singer "rich beyond his wildest dreams", it might temper his remarks, it was mistaken.
Speaking at the NRJ music trade fair in Cannes on Saturday night, the 28-year-old said of piracy: "I think it's great, really I do. There is nothing anyone can do about it.
"I am sure that my record label would hate me for saying it, and my manager and my accountants."
Bootlegged records are hardly a laughing matter to the men in suits at EMI or any other label for that matter. They estimate that 800 million pirate records are sold annually, almost a third of the legitimate sales in 2001.
Last month the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) said the circulation of pirated music in the UK had risen by more than 36 per cent. The figures represent £27m of music sales, according to the music industry watchdog.
Williams said: "I heard a lot of hot air. The heads of the record labels don't know what to do about it."
An EMI spokeswoman said: "Robbie has a great sense of humour. He has made comments in the past that are rather tongue in cheek."
Perhaps the executives are more intent on seeing whether the star's latest bestselling album Escapology reaches the reported 18 million sales it needs to make a profit. So far five million have been sold – legally at least.
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