Music Stars Back "Rock the Net" Campaign
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/28/2007 6:28:00 AM
As promised, the Future of Music Coalition Tuesday launched a campaign for network neutrality, "Rock the Net," backed by a host of musicians (almost 150 artists and labels).
Those artists, including R.E.M., Barenaked Ladies, Sarah McLachlan and Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam, are concerned that independent artists will be marginalized if telecommunications companies are allowed "to charge Internet service providers to have their Websites load faster."
The result, they argue, is that small labels and independent artists could be "frozen out" of another medium; many independents already feel that consolidated media companies make it harder for unaffiliated artists to get heard on the radio as it is.
Helping launch the campaign was Telecommunications Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey (D-Mass.), who pushed for a network-neutrality amendment to a video-franchising bill in Congress last year and wants to push for network neutrality in this Congress as well.
Markey said the campaign is going to be "big and powerful" on behalf of "Internet freedom" and in the face of "broadband barons" who want to control access to their pipes.
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The internet is one of the few avenues left open to musicians getting
started or not signed with a major label. If the general public knew that
their ability to discover new music on the internet was in danger of
being threatened by "prioritization" by their internet provider (of which
there are few choices) there would be protests for sure.
How can we get the word out that this unfettered access is in danger?
Judy Tipton-Katzman - 10/17/2007 3:04:00 PM EDT
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