New Canadian musician group
p2p news / p2pnet: Canada’s entertainment and software cartel-friendly Bill C-60 died when Paul Martin’s Liberal government collapsed under the weight of an appalling financial scandal. However, the bill will be back in one form or another and in fact, it might return almost as-is.
There’s an(other) election slated for next January and IOHO, the Liberals stand a good chance of returning if only because the alternatives probably won’t be palatable to most Canadians.
But even if the Liberals end up in Opposition, you can be sure Sony BMG, Vivendi Universal, EMI and Warner Music which, not at all incidentally, has Canadian Edgar Bronfman junior up front, will continue their relentless pressure on any new government to lock in a bill that’ll put cartel vested interests above all others.
After all, the members of the Organized Music family, the Big Four were close to having their way with Canada’s copyright legislation while Martin was in power, and they won’t let that slide away.
"If you’re in a band signed to a major label, chances are there are hordes of lawyers at your beck and call ensuring that your creative work is copyrighted and protected forever," says Gabino Travassos on MoreGoatThanGoose, continuing:
"On the other hand, if you’re signed to a major label, you likely don’t own the copyright of your work any more, your record label does! The recent debacle over Sony music’s initiative to prevent copying from their CDs is an example of the corporations working against the interest of the consumer, and often the artists they represent."
The post also says, "Interestingly, Sony wasn’t sued for trying to prevent customers from copying their CDs, but because their techno-methodology inadvertently damaged software on the user’s computer."
Go here for thoughts from Bill Evans on this.
Back to MOTE MGZN story, it gets into a movement being started by Keith Serry, "a Montreal-based music lover, public relations consultant and amateur technology watcher" who has a blog called Pregnant Without Intercourse and who "feels a need for another grassroots organization to give musicians a voice," says Travassos.
Accordingly, he’s been contacting potential collaborators and in an email says, "For a while now, I’ve been trying to answer a simple question: If the Internet is going to keep changing the way we make, buy, share and experience music, why is it that the major labels – the same people who have been mistreating artists for decades – are the loudest voices in the heritage policy and copyright law debate? Don’t these guys have a pretty lousy track record of sticking up for artists’ well being? To put it another way, I wondered why the artists didn’t speak for themselves.
"Luckily for me, the public-advocacy lawyers at the Ottawa-based Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) have been hearing similar concerns. Together, we’re trying to form a coalition of Canadian music creators. We hope this group can ensure artists have a direct say in the laws and policies that change their lives."
If you agree your voice isn’t being heard and want to do something about it, "or even if you just have questions," contact Serry through Pregnant Without Intercourse.
He told p2pnet he doesn’t have a dedicated web site up yet, but he’s working on it.
We’ll keep you posted.
(Thanks Russell, and thanks Keith)
Tired of being treated like a criminal? They depend on you, not the other way around. Don’t buy their ‘product’. Do bug your local political representatives. Use emails, snail-mail, phone calls, faxes, IM, stop them in the street, blog. And if you’re into organizing, organize petitions, organize demonstrations and then turn up on your local political rep’s doorstep, making sure you’ve contacted your local tv/radio station/newspaper in advance.
Also read:-
collapsed – Bill C-60 dies with Martin team, November 30, 2005
MoreGoatThanGoose – Join a copyright coalition: Put government copyright policy in the hands of the music creators, November 26, 2005
December 2nd, 2005 at 7:31 pm
For the musicians who weren’t yet on the list when they were sent out, here are the first two newsletters.
http://www.digital-copyright.ca/node/1581
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