Today's Two Big Effing Losers
3/03/2005
1) Sony Corp
Imagine a parody band that plays Beatles tunes in a 'Metallica' way. Sounds fun, right? Sounds reasonable that they should be allowed to do this without fear of repudiation. Well, Sony Corp. thinks they are greedy pirates.
Sony Corp. is asking for a sharp, angry message from consumers, so I'm urging all of my readers to help spread the following message. Visit beatallica.com, sign the petition, and spread the word. If you have a blog/journal/web site, post this message on your web site. Boycott Sony products, CDs, etc. And Support Independent Artists!
You can also use this handy graphic and link I made (unofficially, of course).
Do not link to the image; instead, download it and store it on YOUR server. Link to: http://www.petitiononline.com/p1gp0g/petition.html
2) Unhappybirthday.com
If the owners of this web site are poking around and just having a laugh, then I will retract my accusation. I have a feeling that they are just being clever and jovial, so I won't be too harsh on them. But IF they are serious, then I pity the eye-rolling lunacy.
As everybody may know, the song "Happy Birthday" is written by an ASCAP artist. ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Artists and Musicians) is sort of a legal 'arts' mafioso. They monitor the airwaves, clubs, and television shows for the unauthorized use of material created by ASCAP artists. Then they demand license fees. While this may sound 'reasonable' in theory, it is not.
Happy Birthday is one such song, and it is the reason restaurants will always make up their own dumbass song instead of singing it to their customers. This is a perfect examply of intellectual property laws going haywire. To do something about it, get involved with groups like downhillbattle.org. And support Independent Artists!
That's my bitchin' for the day.
posted by Edward Svengali @ Thursday, March 03, 2005,
1 Comments:
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At 12:40 PM,
Edward Svengali said...
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D'oh!
I should get a sense of humor. This is obviously a ploy to generate a large number of fun, harrassing letters and calls to ASCAP. I'm so dim!
