In case you’ve been living under a rock (that doesn’t have WiFi), freedom-loving American people everywhere are currently pissed the fuck off at the fuck-censoring fucks at the FCC after they introduced a fucking bill back in fucking May that would roll-back existing net neutrality rules.
(In case you’ve been living under a REALLY REALLY BIG ROCK: “net neutrality” is the way in which Al Gore always intended the internet to function when he first discovered it off the coast of South America; and it means that ISPs MUST provide OPEN ACCESS to all the wonderful/egregious/funny/terrible/valuable/abhorrent/radical/boring/religious/violent/Neil Degrasse Tyson-related/Guy Fierri-related content that’s out there on the web and NOT “restrict” the shit you can see or say in ANY WAY just because of whatever batshit value systems they happen to personally subscribe to at the moment.)
In other words: net neutrality a HUGE DEAL that affects EVERYONE; and lots and lots of artists, musicians, gamers, writers, and other liberal-arts-minded supporters of a future that isn’t entirely George-Orwell-style-terrible are justifiably upset-as-fuck that Donald Trump’s FCC chairman, Ajit Pai, wants to go down in history as “that guy” who destroys it.
To that end, two crusading organizations, the Future of Music Coalition and CASH Music have just released a new statement in which a “broad coalition of bands and artists, songwriters, and producers were joined by the American Association of Independent Music and an array of individual record label signatories” voice their “strong opposition” to Chairman Pai’s almost head-scratchingly evil-for-the-sake-of-evil and Voldemort-like plan.
The statement was “submitted as official comments” to the FCC just yesterday. And additional sign-ons from artists, labels, and fans (which, duh, are TOTALLY ENCOURAGED) are being collected at musicforahealthyinternet.org from RIGHT THE FUCK NOW through the FCC’s reply comment period (which ends August 16).
Now’s your chance to (a) add YOUR voice to fucking Ian MacKaye’s(!), and (b) help keep the internet a beautiful place where guys like ME at TMT can entertain and inform the fuck out of you at the same goddamn time.
Sign. Sign. Sign. It takes 2 seconds. I’ll wait.
All done?? GREAT. The full list of signatories and the text of the letter are below:
As musicians, composers, producers, and independent labels representing diverse backgrounds, traditions, genres, and communities, we urge the Federal Communications Commission to protect the open internet as a vehicle for free expression and collaboration.
We’ve built careers and big parts of our lives around our passion for music — creating it and connecting with listeners. Today, the internet is one of the primary places this work happens. We rely on it for everything from booking tours to selling merchandise, to collaborating with musicians on the other side of the globe. The fundamental principle of openness online has enabled artists to connect directly with each other and with audiences, empowering us to distribute our work and reach fans in a multiplicity of ways. At its best, the open internet has allowed for a flourishing of diverse voices, allowing to compete alongside the biggest companies, creating connections across geographic barriers, offering choice, flexibility, and creative autonomy.
To truly make good on the remarkable democratic potential of the internet, the fundamental infrastructure underpinning it all must be neutral and nondiscriminatory. Unfortunately, the FCC’s current proposal would amount to a sharp turn in the opposite direction. It would allow big cable and wireless companies to create new pay-to-play fast lanes, disadvantaging those who cannot pay for preferential treatment, and replicating the industry’s past problems with payola. Allowing broadband providers to control this once-open platform shifts leverage away from individual artists, creators, and small businesses, and interferes with freedom of speech and expression.
The implications for free expression also extend to digital service providers. Without strong net neutrality protections, digital retailers will have to compete to better meet the needs of the ISPs that can block, throttle, or slow down access to their offerings. These services should instead be competing to better serve the needs of diverse musicians and listeners. Artists and labels’ choices about how and where to bring their work to the market could likewise be constrained by what the ISPs prefer, rather than what works best for their individual business and creative goals.
Of course, network neutrality alone is not sufficient to ensure a healthy internet, where free expression thrives, creative labor is fairly compensated, consumer privacy is respected, and diverse voices can reach audiences. But it is a necessary foundation for fair competition.
We urge the FCC to sustain the existing, strong net neutrality rules, based on Title II of the Communications Act. The FCC should maintain bright line rules against blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization on both fixed and mobile connections, as well as maintaining ongoing oversight of other types of discrimination.
Artists:
Aabaraki
Alec Ounsworth (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah)
Allan Wilson (!!!, Secret Drum Band)
Amanda Palmer
Amy Klein
Antibalas
Apostle of Solitude
Beauty Pill
Brent Knopf (Ramona Falls, Menomena, Eyelids)
Brian Henneman, Bottle Rockets
Craig Finn (The Hold Steady)
Cuddle Formation
Cumulus
Dave Narcizo (Throwing Muses)
David Bazan
David Poe
Deerhoof
Devin Gallagher (Typhoon, Ghosties)
Downtown Boys
Dude York
Ear Trumpet Labs
Earth
Eluvium
Emily Reo
Erin McKeown
Flobots
Franz Nicolay
Gabriel Teodros
Rebecca Gates
GRYPT
Harry & The Potters
Holly Herndon & Mat Dryhurst
Hurry Up
Ian MacKaye
Iji
Jace Clayton
Jarboe
Jeff Mangum & Astra Taylor, Neutral Milk Hotel
Jeff Rosenstock
Jeff Tweedy & Spencer Tweedy
Jon Spencer
Jonny X and the Groadies
Kimya Dawson
Kristin Hersh
Kronos Quartet
Kyle Morton (Typhoon)
Lee Baines III & The Glory Fires
Lisa Schonberg (Secret Drum Band, Explode Into Colors)
Matthew Caws (Nada Surf)
Megabog
Merchandise
Merrill Garbus (tUnE-yArDs)
Maggie May Morris (Genders, Sunbathe)
Mike Watt
Mike Wroblewski (Genders, Paper Brain)
Mirah
Mutual Benefit
My Morning Jacket
Pieter Hilton (Typhoon, Deathlist, Sunbathe, Genders, Secret Drum Band)
Priests
Radiator Hospital
R.E.M.
Scarves
Slow Wolves Club
Speedy Ortiz
Spoonboy
Stay Inside
Superchunk
Tanya Donelly (Belly)
Thao & The Get Down Stay Down
The Blow
Tobi Vail (Bikini Kill, Spider and the Webs)
Told Slant
TW Walsh
Will Johnson
Will Sheff (Okkervil River)
Zoë KeatingLabels:
American Association of Independent Music
Atlantic Rhythms
Bad Friend Records
Bloodshot Records
Carpark Records
Cuneiform Records
Dischord
Don Giovanni Records
DZ Tapes
Exotic Fever
Exploding In Sound
JMC Aggregate
Kill Rock Stars
Merge Records
Misra Records
Partisan Records
Polyvinyl Records
Regalia Records
Secretly Group
Sister Polygon Records
Slumberland Records
Tape Modulator
Thirsty Ear Recordings
Thrill Jockey
To Live A Lie Records
Top Shelf Records
