The British Phonographic Industry has today described advertising legal music download services on sites that promote illegal file-sharing as a ‘sick joke’.

Now, let’s think about this. Apple, Sky, O2 and others knowingly or unwittingly have advertisements on these sites. They all advertise legal services. So surely, for example, if someone uses or visits an ‘illegal’ site then decides to use Apple’s iTunes Music Store, this is a good thing, because it’s actually reducing the use of ‘illegal’ services.

Perhaps the BPI are more concerned that the advertising is being exploitative? That is, companies are taking advantage of an illegal service by using it as a platform to promote their own merchandise. But does it really matter? The bottom line is that the message is ‘getting out there’, and that message helps sell music legally, which helps the companies that the BPI represents.