SOPA is a Scam

Quite true.

I honestly don't know if SOPA is the answer, but it's obvious the laws haven't caught up with the technology. It's also a moral issue. If you like an artist's work - support the artist. :shrug:

 

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Laws tend to evolve.

This is an initial attempt to stop internet piracy from foreign web sites.

It's not without it's problems, but you have to start somewhere and learn form your attempts.

There are some who say tough luck and just ignore the issue.
Which is easy to do if you aren't a content provider.

Those who are against it are very lacking in suggestions of reasonable alternatives or ways to improve the legislation.

 

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Anyone ever come across any stats on the numbers or percentages of musicians, labels, distributors, etc. who are against piracy? Obviously, I know the RIAA's position, and that of certain other entities, but as for the rest I've only got anecdotal "data."

Over 15 years, 3 continents, and a couple dozen countries, I've known hundreds, if not thousands, of musicians, label and distro people, et al. Of these, I've known perhaps a dozen individuals who took a stance against piracy--and some of them vacillated often.

Of course, the majority of the people I've known are the sort who typically move from 500-2000 up to 40/50 thousand "units" per title (an album in cd, vinyl, or digital formats)--I'm in that "several hundred to a couple thousand" group. "We" actually benefit from "piracy"--especially when albums are uploaded to music blogs and that sort of thing. That is to say: the uploading of albums to such sites by persons known or unknown actually seems to greatly increase actual sales, as well as attendance at performances. Moreover, the bulk of my income--and that of most in these sales brackets--largely comes from performances anyways.

That said, I know little of the positions of artists who sell titles in the hundreds of thousands or millions. Although I do know that "major label" artists receive but a pittance from actual sales of titles, and this has been the case for over half a century now. Prior to the seventies, there were very few independent labels--and such really didn't take off until the early eighties--so artists had virtually no other options but to sign to major labels in decades past. But this being no longer the case, I'm not really sure of what would be the appeal of signing to a major label.

 

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And there is nothing in this law which prevents you from continuing with this model.