The Internet security firm prefers persuasion over prosecution in dealing with online piracy and points to recent winners Lady Gaga and Adele.

The recording industry has a well-earned reputation for a brass-knuckles approach to Internet piracy. But in the run-up to the official release of Lady Gaga’s new album, “Born This Way,” the security firm hired to thwart would-be music thieves took to Twitter and various online fan forums with a surprisingly gentle plea.

“We would kindly ask you not to post pirated copies of ‘Born This Way’ on your site,” wrote the London-based firm called Web Sheriff. “The label, management and artist would greatly appreciate your cooperation…. Thank you for respecting the artist’s and label’s wishes.”

This gentle, gradual approach – used on three of the biggest-selling albums of the last year – represents a sharp turn in the recording industry’s life-and-death struggle with piracy, one driven largely by performers and their managers rather than the record companies.

The notable successes for the velvet glove approach include “Born This Way,” which crashed through the million-sales barrier in its first week, Adele’s “21,” the No. 1 record in the country for nine weeks, and Taylor Swift’s “Speak Now,” a mega-seller last fall.

But not everyone in the industry buys into what might be called the diplomatic strategy, with critics pronouncing it naïve.

Web Sheriff, founded 11 years ago by John Giacobbi, a veteran intellectual property lawyer, has emerged as a leading advocate of the soft sell in representing artists including Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, the Prodigy, Adele and others. Giacobbi says his preferred strategy is to persuade rather than prosecute, to educate rather than incarcerate. He strives to avoid cease-and-desist orders, fines and criminal prosecutions and seeks to differentiate between professional music thieves and those he regards as hyper-enthusiastic fans.

“The only thing most fans are guilty of is over-exuberance,” Giacobbi said in a recent interview. “When you’ve got some artist they love and have been waiting for a new album for two years, you’ve got to treat them with respect rather than hit them with the big stick – it’s a better way of doing it.

“Generally speaking it’s impossible to put the genie 100% back into the bottle, but you can contain it to a significant degree,” he said. “With Adele, we eliminated 99% of it (pre-release leaks).” The album has sold nearly 2 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen Soundscan.

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Los Angeles, CA — Chad Hudson Events has been nominated as a finalist for the BizBash West Readers’ Choice Awards in the “Event Producer of the Year” category. The winner will be announced at the BizBash West Expo & Awards on Tuesday, June 14th at the Pasadena Convention Center at 5PM.

Readers may vote once daily for their choices from now through June 12th at www.bizbash.com/westvotes. All award nominees were nominated by BizBash readers for events held in 2010.

Chad Hudson launched Chad Hudson Events (CHE) following 12 years of event production and management, including seven years at Warner Bros. Pictures and three years at Castle Rock Entertainment and NBC studios.

CHE emphasizes the importance of developing fresh ideas and implementing a creative design process that adheres to strict aesthetic taste, while providing a friendly staff and superior management for its innovative events. The CHE team coordinates all aspects of the event including budget, design, rentals, lighting, sound, catering, invitations, RSVP tracking, seating, staffing, management and all other necessary tasks.

Some event highlights include the upcoming New York premiere of Transformers: Dark of the Moon, LA Pride, the Twilight films, Source Code, RED, the Guess North American Conference, Chivas Regal launch, as well as philanthropic events and many more. CHE major clients include Summit, Warner Bros, Paramount, Relativity, Trevor Project and Guess.

The University of Colorado, in Boulder’s Program Council presented GLOWfest 2011 featuring a “battle of the DJ’s” spinning the night away in a seven hour marathon of dance music, lasers and lights to a SRO crowd of nearly 4,000 at Balch Field House on the Boulder Campus. Talent included SAVOY, Crystal Castles, Sorry for Partying, Fresh2Death, Thick Chick and Josh McAdoo. Pictured (left-right) are Lobeline Communications P.R. guru Phil Lobel (a former CU Program Council Director) and current student Director Justin Greenstein on May 22nd.

(Photo Credit: Jordan Loyd ©2011)

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