Don't be duped by the copyright evangelists.

Of the many frightening and depressing views put forward lately, the most chilling was this extract from Vic Keegan's Guardian article:"The new digital giants, Google, YouTube, MySpace, Bebo, Flickr and the rest, are operating in a different space and we will have to adjust+The vital thing is to ensure that the rules are not set by the monolithic players of the old regime."

This requires creators to become slaves to the new global internet businesses which are making their founders into powerful billionaires.

Keegan is trying to convince you that we artists want to share our works with the entire planet for free. Let anyone who feels the urge copy it, sell it, change it into something else and pay us nothing.

His obsession is that somehow consumers have been victimised and creativity stifled by the music companies of the past 50 years.

Keegan reassures you that the new super giants of the net are different from the "old tyrants" EMI, Universal, Sony and Warner. They are benevolent and want freedom for all and that it is right that we artists should be harnessed unpaid to the new democracy of free art for all.

This fashionable view undoubtedly influenced Andrew Gowers, who mysteriously found no reason to protect my work for my lifetime.

Patronising and wrong. Even cutting-edge creators want to be warm and safe and to care for our children just like anyone else. Second, we want our work to be cherished and valued. Finally, the consumer shows no sign of being reluctant to pay us provided they see it as good value.