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Musicians Demand the Internet Stay Neutral
eldavojohn writes "124 bands — including R.E.M., Sarah McLachlan, and Pearl Jam — and 24 music labels are sending a clear message to keep Net traffic neutral. The Rock the Net campaign wants all traffic to be equal instead of allowing providers to charge a fee for certain pages to load faster than others. These musicians are the latest to join the Save the Internet campaign, which has the chair of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet in its camp. Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., spoke at the campaign's kickoff. I think it's obvious that musicians (especially independents and small labels) will find themselves with the short end of the stick if they are asked to pay a fee to have their music streamed as fast as larger bands or even corporations."
... is when bands, especially those who have made it already and don't need more money (I'm talking to you R.E.M.), just dump their records labels and publish their music freely. They can ask you for a contribution if you like, or for you to come to their shows. Here's an example from the Netherlands, all their music for download as long as you "promise to let all your friends listen to it".
In general, I think if you want to be an artist, then you want to have as many people as possible to have access to your material, and if can also make a buck, it's an extra. Otherwise you're just an "entrepeneur" (I quote Rock the Net) and part of the system that aims only for consumers' money, and you should not complain.
What I would like to know is: how do these artists feel about the extoritionist tacticts of the RIAA? Especially when their work funds the labels who pay the RIAA?
Any musician whose record label funds the RIAA has no standing, in my opinion, to make statements about what is just.