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September 10, 2013 | Music Notes Blog

Google's New Report: Big on Data, But Where's the Impact?

Google recently posted a report that outlined its efforts to fight online piracy. Certainly, Google has amassed an impressive array of data in its report. And there’s a lot to applaud, and we are grateful for the steps they’ve taken. But ultimately, the appropriate benchmarks are metrics that demonstrate that piracy has been reduced.

As much as Google may be doing, Benjamin Franklin cautioned that we must ‘never confuse motion for action.’ At least in the case of search results, for all of the motion being generated by both Google and the RIAA — our search removal requests will hit 30 million this week — it is increasingly clear we are making insufficient progress against piracy.

It is in everyone’s interest to sit down and agree on steps Google can take that will actually make a demonstrable difference in the lives of the music community. We should figure out how, by working together, we can better promote the extensive array of digital music services and ensure that all those notices and take downs actually reduce piracy. Let’s get to work.