The current proposed anti-internet piracy acts, Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP Act.

I was wondering what the AGM community thought about this legislation. If you're an internet aficionado you most likely noticed the blackouts of several major, global, websites in protest earlier this week. It is American legislation, and I know most of the board members here are Europeans, but it could have global effects if it does pass. It essentially gives the US government the power to shut own any website accused of copyright infringement without due process. It is the worst piece of censorship legislation we have been faced with, and it reaches far beyond just music piracy.

I know that AGM.com does not openly condone piracy, but I am sure most, if not all, members of this community have downloaded at least one song "illegally." I myself have been into underground metal going on two decades now, and I remember the tape trading days well. I view "piracy" in its current form as a sort of evolution of tape trading. A way to sample, a way to expand, a way for bands to get their art to as many ears as possible. SOPA/PIPA would effectively turn the internet of the western world into the internet of China and other oppressive regimes, stopping the flow of information, thoughts, and ideas.

I think the main problem is that it allows commercial interests to control common people's communication. There are so many aspects to file-sharing that it's impossible to condemn it - for example, the shutting down of megaupload is complete idiocy (even though I prefer mediafire); many musicians use file-servers like those to spread their own music to, for example, us, for promotion! Of course, all these channels are used for levels of piracy that aren't defendable, but it's mainly a maneuver to allow big shots (government and commerce) to control how people communicate. Sure, it's one thing to shut down torrent sites that drains decent culture producers' main income, but it's a completely different thing to hunt down, for example, some teenager making a cover of a Lady Gaga song and posting it on youtube. Even more to shut down youtube because they have the right to do so. Luckily, it seems the whole deal was dropped this time, after enough senators and whatever (I really don't know how that stuff works, even in my own country) realized what the hell they really were doing. But it's a scary road we're going down. I mean, the end of it would be that they were allowed to shut down AGM.com because we have posted cover artwork for something we "don't own".

How culture is consumed and communicated has changed forever, and it will not change back to a make-believe past where corporations control every little square centimeter of their property. The whole deal with intellectual property is a complete mess, down to the philosophical basis whether you can own anything intellectual at all, so I won't go into that, but these overzealous counter measures they employ are idiotic. I have a friend whose own songs were taken down from his myspace page, because the label that released it had signed some kind of distribution deal with Universal or something - suddenly, the people who made the music were infringing on their copyright! Of course, it was mostly a mistake & it was sorted out, but it's the same thing. Soon you won't be able to link to a youtube song without the written consent from some douchebag that hasn't even heard of the band...

honestly, I wonder whether the states have something to say today or further on on the subject.. at a certain moment I wondered whether they are in control to affect the european deal, .. as to the latter I wonder what are the instutional obligations that bind countries that consider them European and whether the states can impose whatever they pass on to the world posterity in general and of course including a weaker europe --- all that would eventually mean there really are/will be benefits in voting against the european constitution and stying outside the old lady's common government... so, whether ther are two parties behind all this and who's in control of doing whatsoever i couldn't care less if artist don't have their devoted time payed properly -- as to peoples communication etc i'm not in the state of waiting. there's communication in waiting on mars. maybe the us are planning something in that direction and in case thare are intelligent creative entities on that planet they envision the protection of such alien art-forms, that is the infringement would have to be dealt in some interplanetary course where the local, planetary, copyrigth issues would be non sequitir -- that is : i understand, it is for the space, the cosmic communication that all this is all about.

for example, rigth here in new have where i am and live there are a lotta folks who don't know where their pyjamas are waiting on a white leningrad nigth, i mean, the flow of ideas has been stable eversince but filling the money gap and all the more having the guts/balls/*** to stand next to the execution in a galaxial alignment that reaches right ther to that black whole centre of the milky way... boy, girl.. hahaha them characters whatever the letter you picked up by while on street.. do they really represent the split that's in me, for if it wasn't for that the mayan calendar wouldn't have beeen enough to somebody ever being able to shut my mouth. and that's how these bilocal neighbours of mine have their asses saved.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/11131408935 ... QJxDRiwAWq
Sounds a bit conspiratorial, but if it's true... why not? I read that there will be a hearing against Mediafire soon too. That is, blogs posting legitimate, out-of-press obscurities are going down, effectively silencing a flow of music that most people would never have even heard of (thinking of Mutant Sounds for example - whose work has actually resulted in albums being re-released!).

yeah, if that happens..., sorry for the kids that are coming, i'm a bit old to keep staying active.., i do believe they are smarter.., if they haven't already found ways to rise themselves above

There is always the obscure and not very safe-feeling file servers that porn sites use, haha...

i know there's seldom variation at work, but i do believe the russians will be on until i hoard the little that;s left in order to equip myself listeningwise until i'm dead.

I wouldn't be surprised in the least. The state of politics at the moment here in the US is at the point of ridiculousness. Corporate lobbyists are practically running our country, and the only people that can fix it are the ones that are profiting. Some recent study showed that corporations now spend more money lobbying Congress than they do on research and development. The entertainment industry alone spends almost $1 billion since 1998, and $122 million in 2011 alone, almost as much as was spent by the healthcare and education industries, and nearly double as much as is spent by aerospace. You can see it all right here: http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/indusc ... B02&year=a

These same corporate lobbyists are allowed to make campaign contributions to our electorate... it's not a fair fight, these industries buy out our representatives and make sure that those who will support their interests remain in office.

like i said, corporate can go corporate and collect their sallaries, i'm not gonna pour water in someone's mill and that is the someone keeping bear on a puppy leash.

everyone in the blogsphere binged hard the last week or so....i have enough to last me a lifetime

i pretty much finished my mp3 collection as regards killer metal from the 80's (mostly US proto prog power speed metal)....and me ever seeing/buying a physical copies of those rare and expensive cds/vinyls/tapes are slim to none.....but i can sift through the collcction , and identify bands in a hsitorical context (bands dead, forgtoten etc)

it was great while it lasted...........the blogs were da BOMB !!! RIP