Who’s On Music’s Side?
by Stephan Jenkins
Let’s go shoplifting!
The old entertainment conglomerates (who have been ripping off musicians forever) and the new tech establishment (who’s just learning) had a fight recently, and free speech won — sort of.
Musicians stayed out of the clamor, though. It’s hard to get excited when said free speech is, in fact, your song, and the companies “respecting” its freedom make a buck off it being free.
But musicians are used to not being respected. We’re not really a respectable bunch by nature. It’s our job to stand outside institutions so we can feel and say things that those inside can’t. For this, we receive worship, but not respect. So there’s little reason for us to pick a side.
The real reason musicians stayed out of the SOPA debate is that no one likes a whiner — that’s really it. We’ve always been on the side of the pirate (‘cept the ones Obama shoots in the head)
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