Represents all major record labels An IFPI national group, fighting music piracy in Bulgaria Concerned about growing Internet piracy in the country

The Bulgarian Association of the Music Producers (BAMP) is an industry group, affiliated with the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), which represents all major record labels in Bulgaria, including BMG, EMI, Universal Music and Warner Music.

BAMP has consistently encouraged and participated in numerous raids and seizures of pirated optical disks in Bulgaria. Just recently, representatives from the association oversaw the destruction of nearly 230 thousand disks and audio cassettes, captured by customs officials in the last three years. Experts, however, believe hundreds of thousands of more CDs pass through country each year.

On the Internet front, the Bulgarian Association of the Music Producers told Svetlozar Online that complaints about unchallenged online piracy in Bulgaria have been sent to the authorities. Hundreds of thousands of MP3 files are hosted by major Bulgarian Internet Service Providers (ISPs), giving the whole Bulgarian Internet community free access to music ranging from popular local artists to best-selling international performers.

"Our goal is for these files to be removed," Marina Malcheva, BAMP's administrative director, told Svetlozar Online's Editor-In-Chief, Svetlozar Aleksiev.

Similarly to BullACT, Bulgaria's organization combating video piracy in the country, the association expressed satisfaction with current Bulgarian legislation, which, according to BAMP's executive director Mariana Lazarova ain't more clement than that of the European Union. Ms. Lazarova, however, criticized the implementation of the laws on part of the Bulgarian government.

"The crimes against intellectual property are out of law enforcement's priorities," she told Svetlozar Online. "The authorities basically consider the problem a private issue."

Music piracy in Bulgaria drastically undercuts revenues of music publishers. The Internet is burgeoning with MP3 collections, containing over 100,000 audio files. Street markets are inundated with illicitly copied disks, featuring the latest music releases at substantially lower prices. In addition, audio piracy is a significant detriment to nurturing local talents, whose income from CD sales is minuscule.