Barenaked Ladies to Cdn Gov't: Don't Sue BSS Fans!

No lawsuits, no digital locks on music, say Canadian musicians
By Angela Pacienza
TORONTO (CP) — Don’t even think about suing music fans.
That’s the message a group of musicians — from veterans Blue Rodeo to international superstars Barenaked Ladies and newcomers Broken Social Scene — sent Monday to federal politicians who are starting to draft new laws to toughen copyright laws.
Some of the proposals could make it illegal to share music online, leading to lawsuits.
“For a very long time we, as artists, have allowed industry groups to speak on our behalf. We want that time to stop,” said Barenaked Ladies’s Steven Page at a news conference at the Horseshoe Tavern, flanked by members of the Canadian Music Creators Coalition.
“We need a seat at the table. We need to be part of this copyright legislation when it is drafted.”
The coalition — first announced last week — is a lobby group that includes a who’s who of Canadian celebrities such as Avril Lavigne, Sarah McLachlan, Sam Roberts, Randy Bachman and Sum 41.
The new group comes as the lobbying effort intensifies for Bev Oda, the new Canadian Heritage minister, to introduce tougher copyright legislation.
Page said the government too often hears from big business who don’t represent the views of the music makers.
“For a long time we’ve had multinational corporations trying to determine Canadian culture policy. We think that’s wrong,” he said.
For about a decade, the Canadian Recording Industry Association, which represents major labels such as Sony-BMG Canada and Universal Music Canada, have been demanding the federal government sign international digital music treaties which would make it illegal to use free downloading sites.
The major labels want the power to go after high-volume digital music sharers through the courts like their counterparts in the United States who’ve filed dozens of lawsuits.
In Canada, the laws make it impossible to prosecute for similar behaviour.
Page said it should stay that way because “we would rather see our fans in concert than in court.”
Instead, he advocated working with fans.
“We cannot afford to have an adversarial relationship with our fans. New technology affords fans new ways to listen to music. We as artists . . . must adapt to that,” he said.
Broken Social Scene member Jason Collett credited his band’s international success to the Internet.
“The time and place of a band like Broken Social Scene historically could not have happened without being facilitated by this radical new technology,” he said.
Elsewhere, a spokesman for big record labels was scheduled to push for copyright reform during a luncheon speech for the Bay Street crowd.