Oh! The great equalizer that is the Internet! On Tuesday, I talked about pop star Lily Allen's objections to illegal file sharing and the supposed affects on record companies and artists. It appears, however, that Lily is quite guilty of flagrant copyright violation when it suits her purposes (see Bob's comment on Tuesday's post) but this is too good.
In a scandal sure to be known as "Mixgate," Allen is offering digital "mixtapes" on her website lilyallenmusic.com. The mixtapes feature 30 second to 1 minute cuts from various artists (none of which gave Allen permission). What's more, many of the artists featured do not have any connection to EMI (Allen's record label). She is therefore providing an artist's work without permission via the Internet. This is, I'm told, in breach of copyright laws. Smell the hypocrisy.
As of early this morning, all posts on her blog ("It's Not Alright") have been erased. Her latest Twitter update (seen here) says the abuse she was receiving was simply too much.
Brief note to all artist turned pundits: One should probably be aware of what the laws are before you go off supporting or denouncing them. For more on Ms. Allen and the whole sorted affair, see TechDirt's article here.
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4 minutes ago
2 comments:
Here's a nice, higher-ground take on the Lily dilemma:
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090924/0241556300.shtml
On lower ground, given her reaction to criticism, it's a puzzle how she gathered the courage to take a stage in the first place. Were her audiences pre-screened, or is she that good?
What an awesome article! TechDirt nailed it.
I find it quite difficult to believe she's that good. Just phenomenally lucky to have avoided taking a position on a major issue until now.
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