The recent take-down of Pirate Bay is another example of oligarchy rule, specifically people making billions off of other peoples labour.

What MPAA, RIAA, and other “rights” groups have done is stolen our culture so they can sell it back to us.  There was a time when people made music and shared it with each other for the sheer joy of doing so, same for acting out plays.

Today, recordings, video, and film, provide a technological means to share with a much larger audience.  I’m not opposed to artists getting paid, and I’m not opposed to the costs of distribution being paid for, however, these rights organizations keep 99% of the income they derive from sales and give less than 1% to the artists.  Basically they are just giving the artists a pittance so they have an excuse to rape the rest of us.

I remember when mp3’s first came out, the music industry was telling us all it would be the end of music, the rampant piracy would make it impossible for artists to get paid (like that was their real concern), and people would stop making music.  Instead, the opposite happened, the variety, quality, and availability of music exploded.

One of the problems with the industry is that they’ll only promote artists that are willing to be screwed and sign for a totally garbage contract.  So instead of getting interesting music we get belly button girls.

Music and films are so much a part of our culture, that these groups that charge ridiculous fees and then give so little of it to artists are nothing more than common thieves, yet they control congress and pass laws that allow them to use our government for their thievery.  Folks, pay attention to what your misrepresentatives vote for and don’t support corporate thievery.