| STOP SOPA and PIPA!!!!!!! |
To all American Bandamp members: Congress is currently pursuing some legislation that will likely radically change our access to information on the Internet (in the proposed interest of stopping Internet piracy). Youtube, Google, Wikipedia, will be grossly altered (and smaller sites like our dear Bandamp might be crippled). Please take a second to visit the two links below and voice your opposition to SOPA and PIPA. The legislation is just days away!!!
https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Good point.
Would like to sign, but I have no valid zip code
Would like to sign, but I have no valid zip code
Copied this from Tuncore
By Jeff Price
As some of you may already know, there are two bills bouncing around Capitol Hill called PIPA and SOPA that are supposed to stop websites and internet services from illegally giving away other people’s music (this also extends to film, books, software, video games etc., but I am only going to focus on the music side of things).
I adamantly believe that when an artist creates and records a song, the artist, and only the artist, should have the right to do with it what they want. If they want to sell it, they should sell it. If they want to give it away, it’s theirs to give away. No one else has the right to make those decisions for them.
As noble as this premise may sound, the reality is that the world is full of good people, bad people, and uneducated people. And, whether we like it or not, all these people have access to technology that makes a lot of my beliefs moot–what good is a belief or law if it is simply unenforceable.
To that end, Congress got lobbied hard by the RIAA to write a new law that allows its label members (note: the RIAA is the trade association for the major labels) to have a new legal weapon to go after “rogue” websites and services that give the middle finger to copyright by allowing people to get music for free from artists that do not want to give it away for free.
The problem is that the bills lobbied for were done so by the RIAA, the organization that no longer represents the music industry. The majority of today’s music is being created, distributed, bought, streamed and shared from artists outside of the RIAA label member system. The RIAA and its members are no longer the voice of the industry; they are the voice of what was, and an ever-shrinking part of what is. Congress needs to wake up to this fact.
Or said more eloquently by the Deputy Director of Future Of Music Coalition Casey Rae Hunter:
“Artists have every right to be wary when powerful entertainment conglomerates push for policies that could undermine free expression, all the while claiming to speak for creators.”
The second problem is that the bill gives the old school players the power to not only protect their copyrights (which I support), but also to kill the new music industry.
Simply stated, if the SOPA bill was signed into law in its original form, TuneCore could have been threatened to be turned off, and thus cut off the choice, freedom, and future revenue from the hundreds of thousands of TuneCore Artists that have earned over a quarter billion dollars. Fortunately, TuneCore would be able to handle the threat, but others with fewer resources may not have the same outcome (not to mention why should TuneCore have to spend its time and money to deal with another entity making frivolous claims).
And before you think I am being hyperbolic, here is a perfect example; the US is already seizing web properties through the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division. One of their targets was a hip-hop blog called Djaz1.com which they literally shut down, claiming the hip-hop blog was illegally distributing songs it did not have the right to distribute. That’s right, the government just grabbed the domain and shut the thing down.
Turns out the government had it all wrong – and a year later they finally relented, but not before irreparable damage was done.
The article on TechDirt titled: “Feds Falsely Censor Popular Blog For Over A Year, Deny All Due Process, Hide All Details…” provides a great play by play. The author summarizes it well when he says:
The Dajaz1 case became particularly interesting to us, after we saw evidence showing that the songs that ICE used in its affidavit as “evidence” of criminal copyright infringement were songs sent by representatives of the copyright holder with the request that the site publicize the works — in one case, even coming from a VP at a major music label. Even worse, about the only evidence that ICE had that these songs were infringing was the word of the “VP of Anti-Piracy Legal Affairs for the RIAA,” Carlos Linares, who was simply not in a position to know if the songs were infringing or authorized. In fact, one of the songs involved an artist not even represented by an RIAA label, and Linares clearly had absolutely no right to speak on behalf of that artist.
If this doesn’t scare the crap out of you, it should. If the original versions of the SOPA or PIPA bills passed, TuneCore, just like Djaz1.com could have been targeted.
The concept behind the bill is good—protect copyright—but the execution stinks. Congressman and Senators don’t know that the power has shifted, and they need to hear from you.
Seriously, they need to hear from you.
Take action, get involved. Call your Senator and/or Congressman and tell them what you think and why.
Or go here to learn and do more
By Jeff Price
As some of you may already know, there are two bills bouncing around Capitol Hill called PIPA and SOPA that are supposed to stop websites and internet services from illegally giving away other people’s music (this also extends to film, books, software, video games etc., but I am only going to focus on the music side of things).
I adamantly believe that when an artist creates and records a song, the artist, and only the artist, should have the right to do with it what they want. If they want to sell it, they should sell it. If they want to give it away, it’s theirs to give away. No one else has the right to make those decisions for them.
As noble as this premise may sound, the reality is that the world is full of good people, bad people, and uneducated people. And, whether we like it or not, all these people have access to technology that makes a lot of my beliefs moot–what good is a belief or law if it is simply unenforceable.
To that end, Congress got lobbied hard by the RIAA to write a new law that allows its label members (note: the RIAA is the trade association for the major labels) to have a new legal weapon to go after “rogue” websites and services that give the middle finger to copyright by allowing people to get music for free from artists that do not want to give it away for free.
The problem is that the bills lobbied for were done so by the RIAA, the organization that no longer represents the music industry. The majority of today’s music is being created, distributed, bought, streamed and shared from artists outside of the RIAA label member system. The RIAA and its members are no longer the voice of the industry; they are the voice of what was, and an ever-shrinking part of what is. Congress needs to wake up to this fact.
Or said more eloquently by the Deputy Director of Future Of Music Coalition Casey Rae Hunter:
“Artists have every right to be wary when powerful entertainment conglomerates push for policies that could undermine free expression, all the while claiming to speak for creators.”
The second problem is that the bill gives the old school players the power to not only protect their copyrights (which I support), but also to kill the new music industry.
Simply stated, if the SOPA bill was signed into law in its original form, TuneCore could have been threatened to be turned off, and thus cut off the choice, freedom, and future revenue from the hundreds of thousands of TuneCore Artists that have earned over a quarter billion dollars. Fortunately, TuneCore would be able to handle the threat, but others with fewer resources may not have the same outcome (not to mention why should TuneCore have to spend its time and money to deal with another entity making frivolous claims).
And before you think I am being hyperbolic, here is a perfect example; the US is already seizing web properties through the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division. One of their targets was a hip-hop blog called Djaz1.com which they literally shut down, claiming the hip-hop blog was illegally distributing songs it did not have the right to distribute. That’s right, the government just grabbed the domain and shut the thing down.
Turns out the government had it all wrong – and a year later they finally relented, but not before irreparable damage was done.
The article on TechDirt titled: “Feds Falsely Censor Popular Blog For Over A Year, Deny All Due Process, Hide All Details…” provides a great play by play. The author summarizes it well when he says:
The Dajaz1 case became particularly interesting to us, after we saw evidence showing that the songs that ICE used in its affidavit as “evidence” of criminal copyright infringement were songs sent by representatives of the copyright holder with the request that the site publicize the works — in one case, even coming from a VP at a major music label. Even worse, about the only evidence that ICE had that these songs were infringing was the word of the “VP of Anti-Piracy Legal Affairs for the RIAA,” Carlos Linares, who was simply not in a position to know if the songs were infringing or authorized. In fact, one of the songs involved an artist not even represented by an RIAA label, and Linares clearly had absolutely no right to speak on behalf of that artist.
If this doesn’t scare the crap out of you, it should. If the original versions of the SOPA or PIPA bills passed, TuneCore, just like Djaz1.com could have been targeted.
The concept behind the bill is good—protect copyright—but the execution stinks. Congressman and Senators don’t know that the power has shifted, and they need to hear from you.
Seriously, they need to hear from you.
Take action, get involved. Call your Senator and/or Congressman and tell them what you think and why.
Or go here to learn and do more
Hey guys, you can support the initiative and sign here without a valid zip. You just need to scroll down.
http://americancensorship.org/
http://americancensorship.org/
megaupload was just closed ?
ULI wrote…
Hey guys, you can support the initiative and sign here without a valid zip. You just need to scroll down.
http://americancensorship.org/
I've added my support - Come on Ampers lets support this - It is SERIOUS!!
Signed the petition -
Although this whole ordeal might be an election trick. The Obama Administration will come out as saviours of the (cyber) freedom of the people, by rejecting SOPA/PIPA. This will win them many souls. It's all a very clever setup...
I hope...
Although this whole ordeal might be an election trick. The Obama Administration will come out as saviours of the (cyber) freedom of the people, by rejecting SOPA/PIPA. This will win them many souls. It's all a very clever setup...
I hope...
Wow!!!!!!! Didn´t expect SUCH a feedback worldwide. Even Peter Gabriel has "blacked" his website.
http://www.sopastrike.com/numbers
http://www.sopastrike.com/numbers
It got canned, but it's not over yet. In reality, there are people who want to censor the Internet and its content/access. They'll try to slip a version of this bill by later this year. It's not just RIAA. Ever since wiki leaks, certain officials want to control content and access to the Internet.
It's true knowledge is power, we are a more informed people worldwide, this is scary to business/govnmt. For most of the worlds history , the majority of the people were kept in the dark about decisions made by ruling govmts, and businesses big enough to have effect.
It's true knowledge is power, we are a more informed people worldwide, this is scary to business/govnmt. For most of the worlds history , the majority of the people were kept in the dark about decisions made by ruling govmts, and businesses big enough to have effect.
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