Canada Does It Again

I would like to see something like this on a global scale. Obviously, Canada gets it.

Until now, a group of multinational record labels has done most of the talking about what Canadian artists need out of copyright. But let's be clear: major labels are looking out for their shareholders, not for Canadian artists. Recording industry lobbyists, despite claiming to represent artists, seldom speak for us. Legislative proposals, particularly those that would facilitate lawsuits against our fans or increase the labels’ control over the enjoyment of music, are made not in our names, but on behalf of the shareholders of the labels' foreign parent companies.

They go on to identify what is wrong with the world today:

We, as Canadian music creators, have identified three simple principles that should guide copyright reform and cultural policy: (1) Suing our fans is destructive and hypocritical, (2) Digital locks are risky and counterproductive, and (3) Cultural policy should support actual Canadian artists.

The wind-up. And here comes the pitch. HOME RUN!

Fans who share music are not thieves or pirates. Sharing music has been happening for decades. It is hypocritical for labels to sue fans for something that everyone in the music industry has done him or herself. New technologies may have changed the way that fans share music, but they have not changed the fact that sharing helps artists' careers.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Time to move to Canada, eh?

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Topics: DRM, EFF, IPac, RIAA, Music