John,

I’m reaching out today because Fight for the Future is launching a new effort to end creative monopolies, and you can sign on to fight with us.

The current US copyright system is broken. Creators should be protected and encouraged, but the outdated laws for creative works like books, songs, and movies give companies like Disney, News Corp, Spotify, and Amazon creative monopolies that make them richer at the expense of artists. We’ve put together a new campaign, will you check it out and sign the petition?

As musicians, writers, visual artists, streamers, and gamers ourselves at ❤️Fight, we are excited that the world is waking up to the many ways monopolies concentrate power and fuel injustice. Our aim is to use the internet to bury the myth that creatives need to starve to make great art.

Copyright laws harm artists by allowing monopolies to hoard¹ the rights and opportunities that artists themselves would otherwise have. This system benefits only the largest corporations and shady investment firms, with many artists unable² to access the benefits³ of these laws, making art less diverse and innovative.

An image of piles of 100 dollar bills with a play button overlaid. At the bottom of the graphic is a caption that says "Richer at the expense of artists"

A world with less awesome art—and widespread tools of censorship—hurts everyone. More and more, the tools of oppression used by creative monopolies are being subverted to undermine social change and basic human rights in instances such as:

In the interest of Big Pharma, withholding lifesaving COVID-19 technology from those in need based in part on inappropriate claims that sharing vaccines and ventilators would “harm creators”.⁴
Obstructing journalism and protecting a white supremacist involved in the capitol riots by censoring a video in which music was played under her speech.⁵
Weaponizing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act against a college student exercising free speech about an invasive and racist educational tool.⁶
Censoring⁷ activist videos⁸ to prevent police accountability.

Current copyright laws in the US are downright incompatible with modern society and broken for all of us because they’re rigged to benefit monopolies & giant investment funds. As artists, we’re fighting for change to give power back to the creative community. But we need your help to win—learn more, share, and take action today to end creative monopolies.

For creative people everywhere,

Lia & the team at ❤️Fight

Footnotes

1. CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/01/business/taylor-swift-rights-trnd/index.html

2. Vulture: https://www.vulture.com/2019/03/fuckjerry-lawsuit-copyright-infringement-twitter-instagram.html

3. The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/apr/28/disneymustpay-authors-form-task-force-missing-payments-star-wars-alien-buffy

4. The Intercept: https://theintercept.com/2021/04/27/covid-vaccine-copyright-hollywood-lobbyists/

5. Fight for the Future: https://www.fightforthefuture.org/news/2021-03-02-statement-dmca-mutes-capitol-riot-coverage-with/

6. EFF: https://www.eff.org/press/releases/eff-sues-proctorio-behalf-student-it-falsely-accused-copyright-infringement-get

7. VICE: https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvxb94/is-this-beverly-hills-cop-playing-sublimes-santeria-to-avoid-being-livestreamed

8. Variety: https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/police-taylor-swift-copyright-youtube-blm-1235010756/

Fight for the Future works to protect your rights in the digital age.