via Pitchfork
by Marc Hogan
Millions of people learned about the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) House anti-piracy bill and its Senate sibling, the Protect IP Act (PIPA), through a web-wide protest last week supported by Google, Facebook, Tumblr, and other technology companies, along with not-for-profit Wikipedia. The legislation got as far is it did in part thanks to the efforts of trade groups representing the movie and recording industries. But one special interest group close to our hearts has a significantly smaller megaphone: independent music.
The perspectives of several leading independent record labels who responded to Pitchfork’s requests for comment reveal the issue to be more complicated than slogans on either side suggest. To recap: SOPA and PIPA attempt to stop copyright infringement by foreign websites, but many, including us at Pitchfork, argue that they go too far. By the end of last week, both chambers of Congress had stepped away from the bills, leaving their fate in doubt. While it was easy to see the piracy debate in terms of us vs. them, small vs. big, or good vs. evil, the independent music community’s awkward position suggests a binary view is too simplistic.
None of the labels we contacted expressed support for SOPA or PIPA. But most tended to say copyright infringement is a problem that needs to be solved– and that it demands a better solution than either approving the bills in their current form or maintaining the status quo. One of the organizations pushing for a better answer is the Beggars Group, which includes Matador, XL, Rough Trade, 4AD, True Panther, Young Turks, and Too Pure. “Every effective piece of new forward-thinking law needs to strike a fair balance between competing interests,” says Beggars chairman Martin Mills, in a prepared statement. “Everyone needs legal protections, but everyone’s livelihoods must be respected and considered. We hope that the lines are a little more open for an open dialogue to craft new legislation that will be fair to all and strike the best balance between the needs of creators, technology companies, and the general public.”
Read full story at Pitchfork Media.
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