Bangalore: Instead of combating the online piracy in courtrooms , a group called Arts+Labs founded by several major media and technology companies plans to promote the Web as a place for consumers to get songs, television shows and movies without resorting to piracy.

In recent years, the two sides and consumer advocates have waged numerous legal battles dealing with the rights of artists, distributors and users on the Web."I just like this approach a whole lot better," said Rick Carnes, President of the Songwriters Guild of America and an advisory board member.Arts+Labs is co-chaired by Mike McCurry, who was a press secretary for former President Bill Clinton. The group's other co-chair is Mark McKinnon, who has served as media advisor to the presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain.

According to industry estimates that the global music industry loses $12.5 billion a year to piracy. Illegally downloaded songs outnumber legally downloaded ones, 20-to-1, Carnes said.

The leaders of Arts+Labs said their main goal will be to educate consumers and highlight innovations by media companies and Internet providers to make the Web a better place to legally get songs, movies and TV shows.