The representative of the CRIA (Canadian Recording Industry Association) recently visited Washington to discuss the country’s copyright legislation over there. However, his discussion ended up with independent artist being furious about his comments.
The comment that insulted the musicians who chose to distribute their works online for free related to the assumption that Canadian citizens are willing to support the country’s record industry and Ottawa was called to act. The CRIA’s representative thinks that this “modern digital century creates beggars of creators, sending them back to the 1800s.”
At the same time Canadian artists know that Canadian Recording Industry Association doesn’t even come close to protecting the interests of the country’s material creators. That’s why the major country’s record labels left the Association after the Liberals Bill C-60 came around. The CRIA described people ready to give away their works for free as beggars from the 1800s – that’s what seems to creep close to the defamatory line. On the contrary, the artists themselves think they are rather fueling their independent business model by making the content they created available in the Internet. In fact, no-one can argue that it’s up to performers to choose whether they use the common (outdated) business model or their own. The brightest example of such artists is Toby Emerson, who has been giving away his music for free by uploading it to MySpace and other free services, and he finally became one of the most famous Canadian musicians online. Only then he began selling his works – when he already had a huge fan base. Now he’s enjoying both his fans and profits from his works, which he doesn’t have to share with record labels.
That is just a guy who chose a different way of marketing and succeeded. Why should he be called a beggar? Because he differs from the others? But he’s not alone – thousands of musicians are doing the same. Because he does have control over his works, as distinct from the performers who sign contracts with record companies? Hardly.
Targeted artists, insulted with this announcement of CRIA, remind the Association that the industry’s failed business model is not their problem. The public isn’t going to tolerate any efforts to censor creators, so if they decide to share their own creations on BitTorrent, they have every right to do so without being offended by such words.
The comment that insulted the musicians who chose to distribute their works online for free related to the assumption that Canadian citizens are willing to support the country’s record industry and Ottawa was called to act. The CRIA’s representative thinks that this “modern digital century creates beggars of creators, sending them back to the 1800s.”
At the same time Canadian artists know that Canadian Recording Industry Association doesn’t even come close to protecting the interests of the country’s material creators. That’s why the major country’s record labels left the Association after the Liberals Bill C-60 came around. The CRIA described people ready to give away their works for free as beggars from the 1800s – that’s what seems to creep close to the defamatory line. On the contrary, the artists themselves think they are rather fueling their independent business model by making the content they created available in the Internet. In fact, no-one can argue that it’s up to performers to choose whether they use the common (outdated) business model or their own. The brightest example of such artists is Toby Emerson, who has been giving away his music for free by uploading it to MySpace and other free services, and he finally became one of the most famous Canadian musicians online. Only then he began selling his works – when he already had a huge fan base. Now he’s enjoying both his fans and profits from his works, which he doesn’t have to share with record labels.
That is just a guy who chose a different way of marketing and succeeded. Why should he be called a beggar? Because he differs from the others? But he’s not alone – thousands of musicians are doing the same. Because he does have control over his works, as distinct from the performers who sign contracts with record companies? Hardly.
Targeted artists, insulted with this announcement of CRIA, remind the Association that the industry’s failed business model is not their problem. The public isn’t going to tolerate any efforts to censor creators, so if they decide to share their own creations on BitTorrent, they have every right to do so without being offended by such words.
