Musicians organizations back net neutrality

The American Federation of Musicians and the Future of Music Coalition are actively supporting the move for network neutrality – FMC even has a campaign called Rock the Net, and both are working in conjunction with Free Press’s Internet for Everyone campaign.

In a statement, AFM wrote, “In the 21st century, the Internet has become a critical method for musicians to distribute their work. Artists of all levels of success use the Internet to get their music to fans, either through iTunes, eMusic, Amazon, YouTube, MySpace or the myriad other websites that allow music to be sold or streamed. The Internet allows music and musicians to flourish and must be kept open and neutral. At the same time, the music that is carried over the Internet must be protected from copyright infringement.  These two concepts are not antithetical, and AFM will work to see that both principles are enshrined in legislation and administration policy.

RBR/TVBR observation: It’s hard not to notice that there is very little love lost between artists and labels over the years. Instead of supporting the labels’ efforts to enrich themselves while still stiffing artists with radio money, musicians should be reveling in the new freedom from label middlemen and learning how to make effective use of it. At the same time, enlightened radio stations should strive to know which musicians are enjoying local success and giving them airtime, also without labels in the middle. The labels may not like it, but we think musicians and radio operators would both be much happier groups as a result.