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China fact of the day

It is not just LeBron James who is banned in China:

Cyndi Lauper suffered [censorship] when the censors decided her song "I Drove All Night" sent our a potentially dangerous message to motorists...

Yet copies of [this track are] available in China if you look hard enough because a staggering 95 percent of music sales are pirate copies...In fact, the government's insistence that any foreign record label must submit for approval a translation of all lyrics is partly blamed for fueling the illegal trade.

Here is the full story, FT subscription and password required.  And read my earlier post on how censorship and cultural protection make legitimate copyright harder to enforce.  Not to mention this earlier post on why Cyndi Lauper is so much to blame.

Addendum: Chinese censors are now pondering a naked Pam Anderson.

Posted by Tyler Cowen on December 15, 2004 at 08:44 AM in Music | Permalink

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Tracked on Dec 16, 2004 3:51:12 AM