Bloggers of the World Unite

Yesterday I found out by chance that another of the Devil's posts had been removed by Blogger without my permission. The post in question was Hayley's Here and her Sex Is On Fire .

Having had no contact from Blogger to explain the reason why this post may have been removed I can only speculate that, as I had permission from the artist to post the link to her track, the reason for the removal was that it was a cover version and therefore someone, somewhere (presumably the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) claimed it breached copyright.

Blogger doesn't even bother to check the claim out it just removes the post giving carte blanche to malicious claims of copyright abuse. Guilty until proven innocent what a way to run a justice system. Ever read Kafka's 'The Trial'? Well Josef K would feel right at home in the first decade of the 21st century!

What makes blogger's offence even worse is that the link to Hayley's track had been removed earlier in the week so where was the breach of copyright?

The Devil fully understands the need to protect copyright, artists deserve the right to make a living from their labours and therefore any track that is posted on the blog is either posted with the permission of the artist, their management or an agent acting on their behalf or is directly linked from the artist or labels site and is therefore already freely available. The Devil's mission in life is to promote new artists not to steal from them.

Is this how desperate the music industry has become that they are constantly trawling the internet for minor infractions of copyright and trampling over free speech in the process?Isn't this the corporate equivalent of the slightly deranged neighbour constantly peeping from behind the net curtain and reporting perceived and sometimes imaginary crimes?

Doesn't this cut both ways? Isn't the taking down of posts that don't breach copyright or any other laws an abuse of freedom of speech and isn't this protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and by many state constitutions and state and federal laws? Or does this only apply to the powerful and the rich?

There is a right of appeal but it's long winded and quite frankly a bit of a pain in the arse for most bloggers for whom this is a hobby, and contacting blogger on anything is more difficult than turning yourself inside out in a bath of vinegar. Something tells me they don't want too many people appealing.

Maybe, just maybe, now is the time for music bloggers of the world to unite, form some form of virtual bloggers forum or union (virtual of course!) to ensure our combined voice is heard.

OK rant over. This is not going to prevent the Devil from continuing in his quest to unearth unknown, unheard, unseen, unsigned, unheralded or downright unbelievable bands new or old. I won't let the bastards grind me down.

I'd love to hear from fellow bloggers who have shared the frustrations of having posts removed. Please either comment on this post, email me or send me a myspace message.

The Devil