Entertainment Desk
Jack White, St Vincent, and Paul McCartney are among dozens of artists from all genres who have signed a petition against the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The big names of music industry have signed a petition advocating US Congress for reform the act, which regulates the circulation of copyrighted work.
Their protest decries portals such as YouTube and Vimeo, which were allowed to grow and generate huge profits by creating ease of use for consumers to carry almost every recorded song in history in their pocket via a smartphone.
The artists’ coalition — also endorsed by numerous music publishing companies including three major labels — say the 1998 congressional law is outdated. The signees proclaim that major entities such as YouTube (though not specifically named in the petition) “were not the intended protectorate when it was signed into law nearly two decades ago.”
It notes that DMCA was passed in a ‘technologically out-of-date’ era, and also calls for “sensible reform that balances the interests of creators with the interests of the companies who exploit music for their financial enrichment.”
YouTube has been attacked by musicians who’ve criticised its approach to paying artists. The Black Keys’ Patrick Carney said, “I probably can find 250 songs that are available which the artist isn’t getting paid for,” within five minutes of surfing YouTube. Trent Reznor said that the service was built on the backs of free, stolen content. In December, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, compared YouTube and parent company, Google to Nazi Germany. Both Carney and Reznor signed the petition.
Previously reported names signing the petition included Taylor Swift, U2, Vince Staples, Kings of Leon, and Carole King. Now, the full list is here, and it includes Beck, Jack White, Trent Reznor, St Vincent, David Byrne, the Black Keys, U2, Spoon, Pusha T, Miguel, Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic, Pearl Jam, Pharrell, Yoko Ono, Ryan Adams, TV on the Radio, Roy Ayers, Mark Ronson, Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham, Lady Gaga, Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan and Slash, Elvis Costello, Desiigner, Kacey Musgraves, Sade, Ronnie Spector, Rod Stewart, the Who’s Pete Townshend, and many more.
