In 1963 an electronics company introduced the Compact Cassette (the first ever mass-market consumer recording medium) to the OUTRAGE of the music industry.  Whilst insightful artists shared their music with those who wanted to hear.  They shared cassettes with friends and gave cassettes to fans.

Fans copied and shared the music, they were (c) criminals.

In 1981 digital Compact Discs replaced analogue albums, around about the same time artists gained access to affordable digital sampling instruments.  Artist used these digital instruments to record tiny segments of older recordings (samples), they paid homage to their heroes, but often without the permission of those original artists.  It became possible to make a purely digital recording and purely digital copies when electronics companies introduced CD burners in 1990.  Fans burned their own CDs and shared their finest discoveries.

Artists and fans became (c) criminals.

In 1993 the Moving Picture Experts Group developed the Mp3 audio format, making it possible to share small audio files via the internet.  By 1998 sites like mp3.com, Napster and Audio Galaxy where taking full advantage of mp3 and providing the fuel for first generation portable mp3 players.

Websites were shut down for sharing files illegally, or “facilitating” the sharing of files illegally.

Artist, fans and the major sources of mp3 files, all (c) criminals.

Today, affordable digital tools are available to all for creating, re-mixing, re-using and sharing music. Anyone can produce their own music, remix someone elses music, sing a lyric, play an instrument, hit a drum or a biscuit tin.

Thanks to Creative Commons (and other alternative licenses) insightful artists can now choose to remove traditional restrictions on their music, allowing friends and fans to simply listen to a song, or re-mix it, or sample it, or share it, or use it as dramatic illustration for another Messi wonder-goal!

Start a revolution….overdub and shred!

Maybe we can still change the course our Government is taking us on -- in both Europe and the Americas. The same law makers and politicians who once shared cassette tape recordings of their favourite artists with friends and family are listening only to industry lobbyists.

If you’ve ever made a mix tape for someone, if you’ve ever burned a CD for a friend, if you’ve ever transfered a CD to your iPod, cell phone or memory card…..

….you’re a (c) criminal.

Watch this video on YouTube.

Grab your free copy of the song :

Copyright Criminals 2011 Reprise (mp3)

Lyrics :

Copyright Criminals (CC-BY NC -- you can copy, remix, reuse audio/lyrics -- for non-commecial projects)

—- v1
start a revolution in my head
start a revolution from my bed
to stop their exclusivity
to taint their pure reality
fake a revolution overdub and shred

—- Chorus
we are the copyright criminals
the renegade youth
we are the cartel inquisitors
angels of truth
we are the demons of deliverance
with patent abuse
for evolutionary dominance
a mythical truce

—- v2
make a contribution now you said
make a confirmation they misled
to stop their big monopoly
to question authenticity
make a conversation, use your head

—- v3
force a constitution, raise the dead
force a grateful tradeoff, corporate dread,
to stop their gross ascendancy
to net their grim complexity
force a confrontation, take their bread…

 

 

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