It was a big week on the internet. Popular sites including Google spent the entire day protesting SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) which is a bill that would expand the ability of U.S. law enforcement to protect copyrights.
For the last several years the music industry suffered knockout blows from online piracy and critics have accused music executives from ripping off artists and consumers. Dot-comers accused them of greed and short-sightedness, seen as the fat cats making obscene profits on the back of musicians’ creativity.
At the end of the day, web gurus such as Kim Dotcom are more greedy and arrogant than record execs.
Kim Dotcom, the 37-year-old man behind Megaupload.com makes no apologies for ripping off artists and he says this about music labels.
“You need to understand that some labels are run by arrogant and outdated dinosaurs who have been in business for 1,000 years,” Mr Dotcom said. “These guys think an iPad is a facial treatment, the internet is the devil, and wired phones are still hip. They are in denial about the new realities and opportunities. They don’t understand that the rip-off days are over.
Kim Dotcom generated over $175 million in subscriptions and advertising while ripping off $500 million from copyright holders.
Kim Dotcom is living in a multi-million mansion in New Zealand and sponsored a $500,000 New Year’s eve fireworks display celebrating his move. He races Mercedes and you can find him posing with women beside a large yacht. Mr. Dotcom and his crew own more than 20 sports cars that feature numbered plates reading GOD and HACKER.
Who are the arrogant fat cats ripping off the artists? It’s obvious.
