In light of all the hoopla surrounding EMI's alleged letter to Ajay Sharma, who runs the excellent Verve Universe web site, there are a few sentiments I'd like to express to those who are reading this and are sitting in a nice cozy office, making decisions regarding The Verve's promotion, marketing, and business affairs, etc. Recently there seems to be a request for the removal of certain photos and other copyrighted material or material which seems to be the "property" of the publishing company in question. What also seems to be happening is that the letters concerning these request removals seem to be curt, uncaring, and to be extremely blunt, pretty damn rude. Perhaps there is a misconception on the part of these publishing/record companies on the purpose of these sites. Maybe reading this page could clear up some of these false impressions.

The advantages of these sites are that:

• They promote the band in a way no record or publishing company can: word of mouth. Fans telling other fans how wonderful The Verve's (or any other band's for that matter) music is, is one of the strongest factors that can influence someone to go to a store and buy a CD, t-shirt, or concert ticket, in the first place.
• They provide a way for new fans who might not have heard of the older material to be exposed to it. Many new fans pick up the latest album and then when they see us fans raving about earlier records, they are curious and buy older material as well.
• They keep older fans loyal. These are the fans who have been there all along. With these sites, email lists, etc. they have a "place" to congregate and share their common interest, thus not losing their interest in the band and their music.
• Soundbites of b-sides and rare tracks inspire the rabid fans to hunt and collect import singles (for those in the US) by ordering them through independant records stores, etc. I have been in the same situation thanks to Ajay's site and know *many* Verve fans who have done the same.

In other words, these sites serve not to take away from sales of records and concert tickets, but only serve to increase them. Coming from a pure business standpoint, which understandably is the bottom line with companies like EMI, this can only help you. Coming from a fan's standpoint, these web sites, email lists, etc. are a way of celebrating some of the best music this world has heard. It is a way of sharing common experiences.

When you folks write nasty letters concerning what you consider to be your business concerns, you only endanger the benefits I have mentioned above. I can understand that you might have objections to people putting whole albums or songs, up on their sites, etc., but to come down hard on these people is only hurting the sales that you think you are protecting. Music fans left with sour images of record companies don't buy albums, or at least not as many. They certainly don't feel excited or inspired to spread the word about this great new band that they have heard either.

My suggestions:

• Especially in the case of The Verve, have faith in the music that has brought you to view this site in the first place. Shouldn't you be spending energy and resources nurturing the artists and their fanbase?
• Work with the sites in question as opposed to sending out impersonal cease and desist orders.
• Manners: use them. It's not only about being a decent human being (which I hope you would think is more important), but also about acting as a professional.

All these suggestions can do is make your job easier as well as make the experience of the music fan, who pays your salary, all the better. I can only hope the points mentioned above serve to help this situation. I can personally attest to the fact that Ajay's site made me a bigger Verve fan especially during the time between 1995 and 1997 when the Verve had broken up. I know many others as well who share this feeling about the only site that offered us news and information when there really was no Verve to speak of (at the time).

As always, any problems or concerns regarding this page, my views, or my site in general can be directed to: