FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT July 14 2000 dotmusic.com Alanis, Hanson and others launch the Artists Against Piracy campaign. Music fans in America woke yesterday morning to full-page adverts in the New York Times, the Washington Post. Los Angeles Times, and the Wall Street Journal stating "If a Song Means a Lot to You, Imagine What it Means to Us". The advert is the first step in a campaign from a new "artist-driven coalition" aimed at preventing copyright infringement on the Internet. In the form of a petition, it features the names of around 70 big-name American artists across all musical fields, including Barenaked Ladies, Blink 182, Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, Christina Aguilera, Eagle-Eye Cherry, Hanson, Natalie Imbruglia and the Dandy Warhols. Intriguingly, some of the artists involved ­ such as Alanis Morissette, Aimee Mann and Fisher ­ already have some experience of the Internet as a promotional tool. Morissette, for example, owns a number of shares in music portal MP3.com and was at one point sponsored by the company. Artists Against Piracy was created by Noah Stone, himself an MP3.com musician described as a "recording artist and Internet label executive". Stone feels that "the issue of compensation for and creative control by artists is important to all of us because it affects our careers, our livelihoods and our futures." While Dr Dre and Metallica, - the first stars so far to sue MP3-swapping software company Napster - are not represented on the list, their actions are supported wholeheartedly by the campaign. "Metallica and Dr. Dre have stood up for the rights of all artists to choose the way their music is distributed on the Internet." This is the first time that famous acts have voiced their collective concern over online piracy. And with a possible injunction less than two weeks away, Napster must be quaking in its boots. comment on this article e-mail this to a friend start a discussion [about i-drive] writing index thoughts dotmusic index musicbank index Problems? Questions? Suggestions? Contact me: mail@tobyslater.com back to top back to home page

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