Suddenly Her Royal Blondeness Can No Longer Keep Calm.
What's her name...Drippy Hairy...reminds me of a remark Phil Ochs once made about liberals:
"Ten degrees to the left of center in good times. Ten degrees to the right of center if it affects them personally."
Meaning, either way, the reaction is limp and ineffectual.
So, Ms. Hairy is finding, now that she NEEDS her royalties and hasn't had a hit in years, that her checks have gotten smaller. That she's got to take her tired bones out on tours and make sure to spend a LOT on looking like she once did. That it would be a lot nicer if people didn't STEAL THE MUSIC.
Yeah? Where were you when Metallica and Prince and Gene Simmons were shouting about piracy? Where were you and the others when it came to pressuring the RIAA and other organizations to stop ignoring the problem and start lobbying politicians for better laws, and bringing interns and fans along to find violations and report them?
Through the years many rock stars periodically yipped and yapped about the problem, but couldn't get organized and couldn't and wouldn't rally behind people ready to move and shake on their behalf.
I've seen more than enough of this shit. Again, as Mr. Ochs noted about that "small circle of friends," people are by nature complacent and cowardly. "Authorize me, deputize me, and I'll stop people from stealing from you." "Oh, well, it's not THAT bad. Thanks but no thanks."
Too little too late.
How ridiculous that rock stars, who are supposed to be hip and singing about changing the world, and fighting against corporations and singing for charity...couldn't and wouldn't blow a hole in the pirates' boat. They sailed away on their drug money along some route where they wouldn't have to see the Jolly Roger flag.
The same shit is happening with writers. Literate people say, "Gee, nothing can be done," and "My books are being copied," and "I told my publisher." But when told, "Authorize me, AUTHOR, and the problem will be solved," they no longer want to communicate. E-mails never answered. Phone calls never returned." Actually being an activist? Nah. Apathy is safer, somehow.
At this point Google is way too powerful. They like things just as they are. Plenty of scabs are happy with the chump change they get. "It's better than nothing." Things will not change. And Drippy Hairy will not change because her face is frozen with Botox and she's stockpiled hair dye. And she'll do like Seniormole and Mephisto and the other assholes told her: "Tour and sell t-shirts. The music should be FREE." Never mind how worn out or homesick you get. TOUR! TOUR! TOUR!
The Great God Google knows all, especially all about human nature. They know that drug-addled rock has-beens are no threat. Think Ms. Hairy is going to go through hoops and file complaints when she could be playing with a vibrator? While eBay has a fairly simple takedown procedure, GOOGLE damn well doesn't. They are insidious and fiendish about making a DMCA complicated and time-consuming AND putting all the information out on the Internet for hackers to see. File a DMCA on Google's nasty GooTube, and the item STAYS UP, with a sad-face saying exactly who made the take down.
Why would Ms. Hairy want her MEPHISTO fans making devil potions or hacking her because of "This video was removed on orders of Drippy Hairy." And why would her record label bother, or her publishing company, when THEY are doing well? The percentage on royalties is always like 90% to the company and 10% to the artist.
Once in a while a publicist who can get a has-been's whining into the media, but it won't start the process of getting laws passed. What happened to SOPA, after all?
Lennon sang about people hustling for that buck and a dime. Now it's just a dime. At best, Debbie's record labels might allow a scab company to file on their behalf: "We'll re-direct the "monetization," 50% to you, 50% to us, and we do all the paperwork." Sure, what the fuck. Since the contracts the artists signed were before GooTube even existed, it's likely the accountants can hide the GooTube income anyway. How often did Drippy Hairy or any artist successfully check the books and get their fair share of royalties?
And still, nobody's going around shutting down Zinfart and other pests, and nobody's getting laws passed to block torrents. Nope, Ms. Hairy, getting your waxy face in the paper isn't gonna do it, wishing won't make it so, and back when fucking Tofuhut and "The Blogfather" were farting in the face of the music biz, and "Blogspot" was just a money-losing experiment, something should've been done. Now? 10 degrees to the right of center ain't enough.
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