Grey Album Fans Protest Clampdown

Found on Wired on Monday, 23 February 2004
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A record company's attempt to silence a popular remix has raised voices of protest among almost 200 websites, which are posting DJ Danger Mouse's The Grey Album online in defiance of the music industry's copyright control.

According to protesters, the Danger Mouse fiasco is a perfect example of how outdated copyright restrictions stifle creativity. The label's tactics show that "making money is a higher priority in the music industry than making music," said John Langton, a student and musician.

"If you want to be creative you have to be signed to one of the major labels," said DJ Variable, a DJ and a producer from Philadelphia. "They're the only ones who will put up the money for sample clearance."

"It's like a glass ceiling out there for music," DJ Variable said. "If you start your own label and do your own thing, you can make a spark in the underground scene. If you get to be big, then the major labels are either going to sue you or sign you."

Is that really a surprise? It hasn't been a secret that the music industry only wants money, not art. If the artists only receives a small fraction of the price of a CD, then there is something wrong. Despite what RIAA says: P2P does not harm artists, but the industry. That's why they are trying to stop it.