With the current signatories to the Bern convention at 167 (see here) the developed and developing world is seeing continual growth in the global intellectual property market.
Music licensing has been vulnerable to piracy for many years before the age of digital downloads and will continue to be a part of the maket for use of music in the consumer and business market for the foreseeable future since whilst there is a will, there will always be a way.
Yet music offers much more value than being compared in cost to a stack of copied CDs purchased from a questionable back street trader. Music curated and organised into playlists designed for your specific business needs provides a more compelling proposition than simply looking at the potential cost benefits of a complete packaged in-store music solution. So what holds back developing countries from kick starting their intellectual property economy?
Some have deeply rooted institutions and cultures based on thinking intellectual property is free to use. Added to this any lack of interest and potential corruption within enforcement agencies to act on building an intellectual property economy means that the economy as a whole suffers.
Music businesses, record labels in particular struggle to make a profitable business because a large proportion of their potential market is literally being stollen from them. Likewise the opportunity for international businesses to enter such markets is challenging and in some cases lacks a compelling business benefit.
