Perhaps a recognition that even governments’ plans to suspend freeloaders’ internet accounts won’t kill piracy… record labels, via their International Federation for the Phonographic Industry umbrella, are beefing up their anti-piracy efforts.

The IFPI is promoting its head of internet anti-piracy Jeremy Banks to be its first ever director of anti-piracy - combining his old role, which held for nine years, with one heading up its physical-format piracy enforcement team.

“It reflects the convergence of the two problems,” a spokesperson told paidContent:UK. “For example, people selling physical counterfeits online or using unlicensed downloaded files to run off counterfeit CDs.” As well as the single management structure, it also puts piracy at IFPI’s director level, of course.

It’s the IFPI, under Banks, that has launched or coordinated most of the lawsuits against services labels deem flout their copyrights. This move seems partly designed to root out the sources of pirated material, which often leaks during post-production and prior to marketing.

Banks, in the release: “I’m looking forward to extending our work with members and national groups around the world.  It is the coordination of all our efforts internationally that is the key ingredient to providing an effective anti-piracy service.”