Mike Masnick reflects on the views of an independent musician that the European Union’s copyright directive will shift power from individuals to “middlemen gatekeepers”, and reduce the number of places where independent artists can distribute their work.
A decade ago, when there were still people laughably insisting that the internet was the worst thing that ever happened to musicians, I kept pointing out examples of artists who were creatively embracing the internet to great success -- connecting with fans, building new business models, and succeeding. And every time I did that, people would complain that this example was an "exception" or an "anomaly." And, they had a habit of qualifying any success story -- even if the qualifications were contradictory. For example, if I highlighted an independent artist's success, people would say "well, that's just a small independent artist, they have nothing to lose, no big rock star could ever succeed that way." And then, when I'd highlight a big rock star having success embracing the internet, I'd be told "well, it's easy for him, he already had a... Keep reading on Tech Dirt