The US government recently shut down Megaupload, which makes me even more distrustful of the record industry and the business side of Hollywood. I think if content distributors made their prices fair--if they didn't gyp the artists themselves out of so much money for their own fucking content and weren't focused so much on making record profits vs. the considerable revenue they already generate, sites like Megaupload wouldn't need to exist.

You can get rid of all the peer-to-peer torrent and rar sites, but I'm still not going to pay $20 for a cd or even more for my favorite show on DVD. I could care less about the packaging.

I want to support the artist/the writers/the directors--all creative hands. But I know that they only receive a very small portion of the money I give when I purchase their products--which aren't really their products at all but the distributors'.

What it all boils down to is that these distribution companies and record labels know they are losing their hold on the consumer dollar. The Internet has made them all but irrelevant. Because: they can no longer control the content we see--the content we want to see. We have other means now of not only finding content but getting it cheaply or at no cost at all. And they like to point to terms like capitalism and free enterprise and make it an argument about American values--but the truth is: they got beat at their own fucking game. If someone offers a product cheaper--if someone offers a product for free--the same product you're trying to sell: then that's where people are going to go to get that product. That's how it works. That's how capitalism remains competitive. And competition is what makes capitalism capitalism. Without competition--you have single entities dominating an entire market. And that's always what these mega-corporations (not just the labels) have sought to achieve. That's why mom and pop start-ups never work--why the current business climate doesn't truly foster growth in smaller sectors--growth for smaller businesses. But because the Internet is such a wild west expanse of content and because it's such an alien medium to these old-fossil tycoons: they're starting to get a little squirmy. They can no longer control everything. This is why Rupert Murdoch gets antsy and pours however many millions into Myspace long after Myspace is even relevant. Because he's so out of touch he doesn't fucking know that Myspace is irrelevant. He's so hellbent on controlling every major media outlet but he has no idea how the Internet works--or how information is generated on the Internet because it's not TV and it's not one of his journalistically irresponsible newspapers.

So: you know what? Fuck him. And fuck the labels, distributors, production companies, etc. We don't need them to make content. We don't need them to make art. Art will be made with or without them. And it will be seen with or without them. We don't need the glitz and glamor of a major Hollywood production to voice what is true and essential. We have places to post videos, to post songs and share content--and now that the labels are encroaching on these mediums (vevo, anyone?) we have even more reason to not give our money to these people.

It does bother me, though, that the US Government shut down Megaupload. Not just because they shut it down, but because it's obvious why they shut it down. Because money talks and I'm sure these industry professionals have lobbyists who paid off members of congress to shut it down. It wasn't just an anti-piracy issue--because it never can be. It's all about the asshole with the most money buying himself the loudest voice and trying to drown out all other voices. And I'll be damned before I'm made to believe it's unconstitutional to rob the entertainment industry of a few measly dollars when they not only make billions but have made their billions by robbing the consumer and the artists themselves.

Fuck 'em.

I'm also worried that this recent legislation was in no small part inspired by the recent SOPA protests: that the protests made sites like Megaupload more visible to people seeking to shut them down. There was of course that video on Youtube with all those stars singing the praises of Megaupload. The video wasn't up for very long before the record companies threw a fit and demanded it be taken down. Which it was, ironically: never mind that whole free speech thing--proving that if you have enough money you can silence anyone. So, I wouldn't doubt that the same people responsible for getting that video removed were also responsible for getting Megaupload shut down. And it's especially unfortunate because this is one of the exact things the anti-SOPA campaign was trying to prevent from happening. So: it makes me wonder. What's the point in protesting things like SOPA or PIPA if they're just going to find other ways to do the exact same things?

It makes me nervous. I know this is wrong. I know it's not right for one entity to have complete control over all intellectual property. But I feel powerless to stop it. But I feel like I have to stop it. Since this is such a personal fucking violation and because it's not fair that these same corporations that promote concepts like capitalism and enterprise are not so secretly seeking to destroy those very things by eliminating all competition.

I guess it's OK to write about it but I feel like I should take more effective action.

I don't know.