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[purplefrodo]

Hey everyone,

This is a very important heads-up to anyone who's a musician, or who's connected to running a record label. The Future of Music Coalition is running a survey now, in partnership with the Pew Research Center, of musicians' attitudes towards the Internet. Within just a few months, we could see laws pass that would start sending people to jail for filesharing. The major record labels lie to the public that they're doing this to protect musicians, so right now it's vitally important that the public hear what most musicians really think. The Pew Research Center is a respected institution, and when they release a study like this it makes news; you've got an opportunity here to make your voice heard. Take the suvey, and please pass this on to all of your friends who play music:

http://websurveyor.net/wsb.dll/11719/Music.htm

THE DEADLINE FOR THIS SURVEY IS APRIL 15th. For more information about the study, and about the Future of Music Coalition, check out:

http://futureofmusic.org/research/musiciansurvey.cfm and
http://futureofmusic.org/manifesto/index.cfm

The survey isn't especially good. There are lots of questions that are rather leading. For example: "Overall, do you think file sharing on the Internet poses a MAJOR threat to creative industries like music and movies, a MINOR threat, or that it poses no real threat at all?" They exclude the increasingly obvious answer: that filesharing is a good thing for the independent/underground side of the music business because it's breaking the major labels' monopoly. And they don't ask the question: "Do you want to see working parents and students going to jail for sharing music?" --which is an important question to ask since it's on the horizon. But try to work within the limited questions to get your message across.

And again, pass this around to your friends. We've only got four more days ('till Thursday)!

We're gonna win,

Jamie Greig (purplefrodo)
Downhill Battle
downhillbattle.org