In the world I want to live in, I envision artists fairly compensated for their creations, because we (the audience) believe in the value of what artists create. The artist's passion, dedication and expression is respected and rewarded. The artist is treated fairly and ethically, so they can pay their rent, support their family, and spend their time creating art.

SHARE THE GRAPHIC ON FACEBOOK if you think musicians should be treated ethically. Share via this link: http://on.fb.me/LPkDqm (click over, then click "Share" in the bottom middle part of the graphic).

You cannot change the world by being against something. You change the world by being for something. Personally, I am for artists being treated ethically. I prefer the positive, rather than the negative. The "you are a thief!" approach to this argument is a failure. Using words like "stealing" and "illegal" and "jail time" immediately stops the discussion. This is really about education. Most of our fans want to do the right thing. They don't realize that getting the music "for free" is not REALLY free. It's funnelling billions of dollars to unethical businessmen (many in Russia) who are profiting at the expense of creative artists (film, music, games, software, etc). I know that's not the world my fans want to live in. "Be the change you want to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandi Prince said to The Gaurdian, in 2015: "What I meant was that the internet was over for anyone who wants to get paid, and I was right about that. Tell me a musician who's got rich off digital sales. Apple's doing pretty good though, right?" Here are instructions for filing DMCA requests, to get your music off locker sites.

USEFUL LINKS:

Why is there a debate about this? Lord knows, but it's at Digital Music News Here's how to get your files off those "locker" file-sharing sites! All those millions and millions of files (music, films. p&rn, books) on those locker sites are not up there because of an utopian belief in open-source access to art. This isn't about paradise. This is about a new way to take advantage of the artist. Those files are up there so people like Kim Dotcom can earn $50 million a year. Let's be clear about that. It is all about greed. Follow the dots. Unauthorized content brings people to their sites. Those people don't want to wait 3 hours to download a movie, so they upgrade to the premium service and get the movie in 3 minutes. Ka-ching! More profit in the "locker" sites' pockets! The site wins, their incentivized uploader wins, the person downloading wins. Win-win-win! Who loses? We (the artists) lose! Let's stop these sites from making money off our creations. Let's pull the plug. You're probably an artist looking for instructions on how to get your music taken down from those sites. Wouldn't it be nice if it were opt-out? Alas, it is not. You have to find every violation and report it. It's a game of whack-a-mole, many of the files pop up again within days. The reason I spend five hours a week on this is to break links and disconnect connections. Blogs and websites that share links are one of the ways people find unauthorized music (Google is by far the biggest offenders, sending people to the sites, while also selling ads onto those sites). If we take down the file, we create a dead link. A small step. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (learn yourself at Wikipedia) was designed for this purpose. The act passed in 1998, a naive era before such sites existed. DMCA is based on the premise that a file must've got up there by accident. Sites can host unauthorized files as long as they take them down when the rights holder catches them and complains. Fucked up, but it's all we got. Ok, here's how to do it: (1) find content (2) file a "Takedown Notice" (3) the site takes the file down. I recommend you make this part of your weekly schedule: (1) find unauthorized content (ie: log onto the internet) This part (unfortunately) is way too easy. a) FilesTube is a search engine that looks into the "locker" file-sharing sites Click the link to see a list of thousands of Led Zeppelin files up illegally). Use Filestube to search on your band name. b) Click on the BLUE UNDERLINED headline title for your release. (Do not click the word "Download") (If the link is dead, when you get to the next page Filestube lets you know. Don't report that one) c) There is a white box with "Direct Links" above it. That is the url of the illegal download On the right below that is a button, "Copy to Clipboard" -- click that. It copies all the links. d) Open an email message and paste the links in there. e) Click back one page and do the same for the next entry (putting all the links into one email). f) There are other sites you should use as well, such as Filetram, Rapidsharemix, or Losslessalbum.net Generalfil.es OR >Ebookee.org Here's a modern site that's not as tedious to use: 4s.org/. And another promakashka.ru g) Also, set up a Google Alert with your band name and your most recent album's name. Google will let you know when the next illegal file is up. To keep from driving yourself crazy, set it to alert you once a day, rather than every time it finds one. This will also help find the one legitimate review or playlist that you missed! : ) (2) file a "Takedown Notice" (ie: report it to the site) Now you have an email filled with links to files of uploads of your music. Each site has a convoluted and hidden instruction page detailing how to file a complaint. Some (like megaupload, rip) claim you can only file a Takedown Notice (ie: DMCA abuse complaint) via a form on their website. IGNORE THOSE INSTRUCTIONS! What I discovered is they will take it down with a simple email. They take down ANYTHING that gets a complaint (for fun, take down a page of Skinny Puppy or Rozz Williams albums. Consider it good karma). I send in ONE EMAIL with all the file urls to ALL the sites (I no longer waste my time on separate emails to each site. Send all of them all of the links, make them do the work of sorting out which is theirs). In your email, include a statement such as this: md5 #! Under the penalty of perjury, I am the owner of the copyrighted work listed below. I ask for the immediate removal of all of these files from your site. These are Illegal infringements, uploaded without my permission. Please remove them and email a confirmation I have good faith belief that the use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agents, or the law. The information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, I am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed. Your name / band / business name Your address Your phone number (not required) Your email Please put in a md5# and stop allowing your users to upload this album ! Also, include in your subject line: "md5#" --- this is suppose to get them to block the same file from being reuploaded. IE, uploaded.net replied: "we will henceforth block all files with identical checksum from being uploaded." Here are the email addresses I send to (a strikethrough means their website lists a fake/bad email address): admin@2olega.ru abuse@4shared.com audiojungle.net -- they are hosted by Amazon Web Service, so send a DMCA to: abuse@audiojungle.net, copyright@amazon.com, abuse@amazonaws.com, support@envato.com abuse@bezsms dmca-agent@bigfile.to bitshare.com, abuse@webazilla.com as well. They host this site dmca@bitshare.com legal@bitsnoop.com abuse@chomikuj.pl support@cliggo.com abuse@cloudzer.net abuse@crocko.com -- apparently changed their name from easy-share.com (according to this) maildarkmusic@gmail.com - a site that links to illegal downloads darksceneorg@gmail.com dmca@datafile.com, support@datafile.com, abuse@depositfiles.com, dmca@depositfiles.com <-- emails bounce back, use form here: http://depositfiles.com/tickets/?abuse http://dwnload.pw/ -- send to: abuse@dwnload.pw, abuse@uploaded.net, xtradlcom@gmail.com abuse@easy-share.com abuse@easybytez.com support@ex-load.com exbit.net -- links to: turbobit.net/abuse -- their contact: abuse@turbobit.net, abuse@webazilla.com (not sure if they reply) dmca@extabit.com dmca@filedefend.com abuse@filefactory.com abuse@filejoker.net dmca@filejungle.com info@filemates.com abuse@filemonkey.in abuse@fileom.com abuse@fileover.net support@filepost.com abuse@filereactor.com dmca@fileserve.com dmca@filesonic.com, abuse@webazilla.com as well. They host this site dmca@filespace.com Have to use their form http://filespace.com/contact.html FilesTube Support: dmcaresponse@filestube.com, abuse@webazilla.com as well. They seem to host this site support@filezpro.com abuse@firedrive.com abuse@firstload.net <--- I was told that firstload.net is a "spoof locker site." Spoof means whatever you type and search for on Firstload will show a page claiming the file 'name' is available to download through their site. They ask for credit card payments and then simply give users a link to usenet. They don't host content. They are a total scam. And their email is bad. So don't waste your time with this one. abuse@florenfile.com abuse@freakshare.com <-- this bounces back as mailbox full, use: abuse@webazilla.com -- they host this site abuse@FriendlyDuck.com, abuse@usenet.nl dmca@furk.net abuse@gigabase.com admin@ noc@ abuse@hitfile.net <-- no longer works, abuse@turbobit.net takes down for hitfile. Why? Because most of these sites are an interrelated scam run by Constantin Luchian, A Russian king-of-illegal-shit who claims to be based in Florida (according to: http://hitfile.net/abuse), though he's somewhere in Russia. Enjoying all those credit card numbers people unwisely give him. abuse@hotfile.com support@icerbox.com abuse@i-filez.com -- also: abuse@steephost.com junglevibe.net -- they want you to use: http://junglevibe.net/dmca/ -- BUT, I got files taken down with an email to: abuse@vibe3.com info@katfile.com support@legalsounds.com abuse@letitbit.net, as@letitbit.net, abuse@webazilla.com as well. They host this site loaditdown.net <--- links to firstload.com (see above) support@loudtronix.me dmca@luckyshare.net support@luckyshare.net help@ info@ -- this site will not take things down. DMCA@lumfile.com support_team@corp.mail.ru <--- this is the address I received a reply from. Also: legal_dep@corp.mail.ru, sales@corp.mail.ru, pr@corp.mail.ru, marketing@corp.mail.ru abuse@mediafire.com megafilesfactory.com this one links to: admin@yourfilegarden.com support@mega.nz, api@mega.nz, copyright@mega.nz abuse@megashares.com abuse@mirrorcreator.com abuse@multiupload.com support@nitroflare.com, abuse@clouflare.com, abuse@global-layer.com jonnie@nitroflare.com, Jonnie Edhardy. <--- May 6 2015 - This site REALLY SUCKS. They want you to use their takedown tool nitroflare.com/ATT (though it won't let me join, and I wonder if it's a complete sham). Jonnie will argue back and forth with you by email about why they cannot take down a file by email. He'll also make veiled Russian-mafioso threats. After enough arguing (and sharing with press) he took my file down, "this one time." The second and third time he will not take them down. This guy is a total douchebag. abuse@novafile.com support@nzbfriends.com abuse@oboom.com abuse@oron.com support@PutLocker.com, abuse@PutLocker.com <--abuse@firedrive.com -- strangely they respond from this email, though are too stupid to realize they are the same company! admin@rapidgator.net, robot@rapidgator.net abuse@rapidshare.com admin@rusfolder.com admin@ryushare.com abuse@secureupload.eu sendspace.com, abuse@webazilla.com as well. They host this site abuse@sharingzone.net, dmca@sharingzone.net/ <--- I was told thatsharingzone.net is a spoof site, and doesn't have the content it claims to have, example: sharingzone.net/?q=Hi+Sam+This+File+Does+Not+Exist support@Share4Web.com DMCA@songs.to copyrightagent@soundcloud.com <-- yes, even soundcloud is getting in on the illegal file hosting business. :( support@subyshare.com -- you can file a DMCA here: http://tickets.subyshare.com/open.php abuse@tezfiles.com abuse@tgf-services.com ad@torrentbar.com abuse@turbobit.net, abuse@webazilla.com as well. They host this site abuse@ultrafiles.com dmca@Ultramegabit.com abuse@uloz.to, abuse@ul.to, abusemanager@ulozto.cz support@unibytes.com upload4earn.com@gmail.com dmca@uploadable.ch uploadable.cz : ak-pkk@ulozto.cz <--- use the search bar to find more from them. Uploadboy = UploadCenter2+Abuse@Gmail.com Uploadcenter2+abuse@gmail.com, Uploadcenter2@gmail.com abuse@uploaded.to, abuse@uploading.com, abuse@uploaded.net <--- these seem to all be the same site, as ul.to will respond to complaints emailed to others. May 2017 Uploaded.net won't take down files by email. They require that you create a Takedown Account http://uploaded.net/takedown/login -- and submit the infringing files there. They take files down really fast when you use their site. As they are such a large infringer, it was worth signing up. Bastards! But oh well, we do what we gotta do. abuse@uploadgig.com < abuse@uploadhere.com BR>DMCA@uploadjet.net abuse@uploadking.com dmca@uploadstation.com dmca@upsto.re legal@vimeo.com abuse@vip-file.com laura.ye@wattpad.com, report@wattpad.com http://wtfmusic.net/ -- contact: wrzmusic.biz@gmail.com yapapka.com lists this email: admin@rusfolder.com (not sure if they reply) dmca@wupload.com, abuse@webazilla.com as well. They host this site yapapka.com files taken down by: admin@rusfolder.com abuse@zippyshare.com -- May 2019, this email works again Have to use their form: https://support.zippyshare.com/index.php?act=tickets&code=open This site has a list of emails for a bunch more sites. (3) they take it down (ie: it'll be back up shortly...) Your file will be gone within 24 hours. If not, file the complaint again with your next batch of illegal files. Because yes, you will be doing this same thing next week. And the next week. And the next week.... it's a never-ending process. The DMCA puts the burden on you. Thanks, Mr Senator. November 2012: In 1998, my record label (Projekt) had thirteen employees. Four of us were full time, with health insurance. Now Projekt has three employees. I am the only one who is full time with health insurance. This is how downloading without paying devastates jobs & the entertainment industry. - Sam Update, July 2014: I am now the only full time employee. I have one person who works 10 hours a week. Free music does alter the music industry. How to get YouTube to takedown an unauthorized video The artist or label can file a complaint. Under "??? more" click REPORT to start the process. When you get the first video listed, it allows you to add more. So you can file takedowns on 1 or 20 this way. It's a bit tedious, but they takedown very fast, in my experience. (This was posted 11-18-2015. YouTube changes their design ALL THE TIME. so who knows if this instruction will still be accurate by the time you read this.)