The music industry in Bangladesh is saturated by pirated CDs and downloads.
Although people enthusiastically celebrate the national language and culture every Amar Ekushey, less attention is paid to improving the economic prospects for artists and authors.
Law enforcing agencies have to become more active in protecting copyright. Even though there are some legal websites for download which share proceeds with musical artists, these are overwhelmed by readily available illegal products.
Musicians are hence left with essentially only being able to earn a living from live performances, however popular their records.
Rampant copyright infringement is cheating creators of their right to profit from their work.
The existing Copyright Act must be effectively implemented. More active participation by law enforcement is crucial for reducing piracy, as is the need to raise awareness among the public.
The government must do more to guarantee that creative minds can receive their dues. Action should be taken against major sites that encourage illegal downloads.
We understand that enforcing such laws is made more difficult by technology and content theft will always exists to some degree, but throwing up our hands is not the answer.
The law must give artists more ability to protect their content. Otherwise, we risk heading towards a situation where the music industry may die out since there is no way for artists to make a living.
We have plenty of talented artists in Bangladesh and they deserve more protection of their creativity.