BRN&GETBRNT MEMORIES
BRN&GETBRNT MEMORIES

Pop CultureDecember 1, 2016

Remembering BRN & GTBRNT, the NZ music industry’s terrible and ultimately futile anti-piracy campaign

BRN&GETBRNT MEMORIES
BRN&GETBRNT MEMORIES

The year is 2001 and the music business is under existential threat from the latest teen craze: CD bootlegging. Its response involved draconian fines, an embarrassing txt-speak slogan and Dave Dobbyn made up to look like a burns victim. Robyn Gallagher explains.

Cast your mind back 15 years ago, before the age of streaming and YouTube and The Cloud. Back then music was still almost entirely consumed on physical formats, and the music business’s overriding concern was the continued sale of compact discs. And there was one particularly big threat to this business model: young people with CD burners.

As technology evolved and prices dropped, it became increasingly easy for young music fans to purchase a CD burner and blank CDs and to rip and burn albums for their friends. When record shops were selling new-release CDs for well over $30, being able to buy a copy from a friend for only $10 was so much more appealing.

While this practice was completely illegal, with copying of recorded music controlled by the Copyright Act 1994, the ease of burning CDs made it commonplace. A schoolyard black market grew.

A New Zealand Herald article from 2001 noted that while recordings from Destiny’s Child, Robbie Williams and Britney Spears were the big sellers, “Kiwi music is also holding its own in the playground, with Che Fu and The Feelers in high demand.”

Record labels made the argument that pirating music was hurting the local music industry, but it was harder to convince young fans that millionaire pop stars from overseas, showing off their blinged-out lifestyles in music videos, really needed that extra cash from New Zealand.

The prospect of teen bootleg CD sellers began to worry the music industry. So in November 2001, the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) launched the anti-piracy campaign BRN&GTBRNT (Burn and get burnt). The New Zealand music industry was going after the kids.

BRN&GETBRNT MEMORIES
BRN&GTBRNT MEMORIES

In an attempt to connect with its young target audience, BRN&GTBRNT used txt speak to style its name. And in case you’re wondering, no, BRN&GTBRNT was never considered a cool name.

The campaign didn’t feel like it was on the side of music consumers. CDs would be festooned with BRN&GTBRNT stickers, promising a $10,000 fine for anyone caught copying it. The campaign, with its naff slogan, dramatic threats and attempts to be down with the kids, just made the act of illegally burning CDs seem like an edgy act of rebellion.

A number of high-profile New Zealand musicians were dragooned into the campaign, including Dave Dobbyn, Tim Finn and Stellar. But realistically, would a teen fan of Linkin Park or Destiny’s Child really relate to an ad featuring Dave Dobbyn wearing red burn makeup?

I spoke to former CD bootlegger Adam, who was 16 at the time of the BRN&GTBRNT campaign, and exactly the sort of person who RIANZ was trying to target.

Adam was working part-time, so had money to spend on CDs, usually buying four a week. He would then burn copies for his mates, selling albums from artists like Linkin Park, Slipknot, Jurassic 5, as well as Kiwi bands like 8 Foot Sativa.

He says he’d sell them for around $5 or $10, and always made a point of using good quality blank CDs.

Adam remembers seeing the BRN&GTBRNT campaign promoted at his local CD store, but it didn’t have much of an effect on him.

“I just wanted my friends to enjoy the music I was enjoying but not all of them had a job like me. I always felt that if anything I was helping to spread artists’ music to those who might not have been able to reach it.”

And his role as a music maven had a long-term benefit. He says, “I still have friends from school who speak to me and say, “Hey man, you got me into [those bands] and I’ve never forgotten it!”

It’s an effect that RIANZ weren’t interested in at the time. They would rather a teen music fan did not buy any music than for them to purchase burned CDs.

The music industry also responded by introducing compact discs with built-in copy protection technology. This caused more trouble, often making CDs impossible to play on personal computers or in car stereos.

Music fan Lawrence Mikkelsen described his dilemma from that era. “I’d take a box of CDs to work every day. The EMI CDs generally wouldn’t play, or would skip badly. As an obsessive music consumer I purchased a lot of CDs, so for three years I didn’t buy a single NZ-released CD from EMI – I’d order them from Amazon UK, where the CDs didn’t have copy-control on them.”

But did the anti-piracy campaigning work? A 2004 New Zealand Herald profile of RIANZ head and departing Sony Music boss Michael Glading notes what while he felt BRN&GTBRNT was a success, “it mostly inspired people not to burn New Zealand albums rather than albums in general.”

By the mid 2000s, BRN&GTBRNT had quietly ended, with the music business feeling no less unsettled and uncertain than it did at the start of the decade.

In the press release announcing the campaign’s launch, Dave Dobbyn described an ominous future in which people stopped paying for CDs. “If burning continues to gain momentum,” he warned, “young artists won’t have the opportunities we had.”

Strangely enough, this exactly what has happened. People don’t buy CDs and young artists of today don’t have the same opportunities. But they have different opportunities.

Back in 2001, it would have been unthinkable that an unknown New Zealand artist like Lorde could have made her debut EP free to download, and months later be at the top of the American singles chart.

And the problem that RIANZ was stressing over — kids buying burned CDs — has stopped being a problem because the only people left buying compact discs are music collectors and older people.

Streaming is now the main source of revenue for the New Zealand music industry, making up 35%, with physical sales down to 26%. Why bother leaving the house to pay money for a burned CD when you can stay home and legitimately stream it for next to nothing?

But if anything shows how much things have changed, it’s The Classic Chillout Album CD that Wellington musician Disasteradio came across a couple of years ago. Stuck to the cover was an original price tag of $24.99 (marked down from $34.99) and a BRN&GTBRNT sticker.

Today, a chillout compilation album can be found on iTunes for as little as $7.99. If you’re a Spotify subscriber, you have the choice of several curated chillout playlists. Or you can listen to a four-hour chillout mix on YouTube for free. No blank CDs required.


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nurse-jackie

Pop CultureDecember 1, 2016

Inside the Lightbox: Cool new shows arriving this December

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Inside the Lightbox is a sponsored feature where we go through Lightbox’s extensive online catalogue for shows you might like to watch. This week, Alex Casey and Madeleine Chapman peruse the new content dropping in December. 

NCIS (S10)

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Helicopter crashes, cyber-terrorists and car accidents come thick and fast in the tenth season of NCIS, one of the most iconic US police procedural dramas of all time. Besides the shady figures in alleyways, the dialogue can be killer too. All we’re saying is, McGee gets told to “kiss my experienced buttocks” in episode five. That’s all we’re saying. / AC

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (S13)

"Tell-Tale Hearts" -- Coverage of CBS' CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION scheduled to air on the CBS Television Network. Photo: SONJA FLEMMING/CBS ©2011 CBS BROADCASTING INC. All Rights Reserved.

There are some shows that could run forever and no one would complain. NCIS is one, and CSI is the other. In season 13 Ted Danson is well at home as new boss D.B. Russell. You’ll look at his perfect white hair and stunning blue eyes and you’ll start to realise that he’s actually quite attractive. Then you’ll look him up on IMDb, see that he’s about to turn sixty nine, and sit for a moment, questioning every thought you’ve ever had. / MC

Nurse Jackie (S7)

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Edie Falco was nominated for an Emmy every year from 2010 to 2015 and only won once, which in itself is a small crime against humanity. With drugs, sex, violence, and backstabbing, Nurse Jackie is like The Sopranos in a hospital. And Edie Falco was in The Sopranos too, because Edie Falco is the unsung hero of television. / MC

Vikings (S4 part II arrives 7pm tonight)

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It’s time for Ragnar’s return as the second half of season four comes roaring back to Lightbox this month. Never watched Vikings before? Don’t know your Norse history? Love men with long ponytails? May we suggest a binge watch complete with horned helmets, meat stew and Rolos. Our own José Barbosa did it and he seemed… fine. / AC

The Art of More (S2)

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Ever wondered what Kate Bosworth’s been up to since Superman Returns? Turns out she’s been starring in The Art of More (and probably doing other stuff too). With only its second season just released and ten episodes in its first, The Art of More is the perfect weekend binge if you’ve ever wondered just how cutthroat the art dealing world is. / MC

The Mindy Project (S5)

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The fifth season of Mindy Kaling’s technicolour longform rom-com sees her making a difficult choice between two besotted men. Does one choose an aloof baby daddy or a creepy cowboy looking co-worker? There’s a lot to factor in, a lot of cool outfit changes and a lot of office fondue to eat. / AC

Other dates to watch for:

Mozart in the Jungle (S3 arrives Dec 10)

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Last year in September I was walking through Washington Square Park in New York City when I saw a full orchestra set up by the fountain. I stopped to hear some incredible symphonies but I heard nothing because they were just filming a scene for Mozart in The Jungle. It was 33 degrees that day and the men were in full tuxedos, out in the sun. I watched them and I wept. That alone is enough to warrant a viewing but the music in the show is also great. / MC

Scream Queens (S2 finale Dec 14)

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One time I met John Stamos on a plane, and he told me to catch up on all episodes of the blood-soaked dark comedy Scream Queens before the finale mid-December. I also met Jamie Lee Curtis but she said nothing. She was too busy eating yoghurt. / AC


Catch up on these new seasons, and many more shows on Lightbox below

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This content, like all television coverage we do at The Spinoff, is brought to you thanks to the excellent folk at Lightbox. Do us and yourself a favour by clicking here to start a FREE 30 day trial of this truly wonderful service.