No But Seriously, SOPA Is A Dark Cloud On My Future

I’m trying to get a band off the ground, and I hope to do it using Bandcamp. I find the business model incredibly cool. I think the old ways of buying CDs are stupid—I won’t purchase something if I don’t get to listen to it first. In the past two years, all of the CDs I’ve purchased were ones that I either downloaded or streamed first and then bought them because I liked them that much. You gotta *earn that god damned money.* Bandcamp is a way to get the music heard, let those who like it pay, and get the money straight to the band. It’s also a way for the band to make *exactly as much money as they deserve to.* I say that because a band deserves to make as much money as their music is wanted. Could you imagine if this site became mainstream, and became a preferred method of music delivery to the services provided by record companies? (This is where I say “it would tear the industry apart” while knowing nothing about business whatsoever.)

But what happens if SOPA goes through, and some assholes locate a Kanye West song on Bandcamp and tear it down? No more chance at becoming mainstream; big labels win, and small bands have one less way of getting out there. Then I find myself writing pop songs to try and get on a label, start hating myself, and give up.

The idea of SOPA makes me afraid to do anything on the internet. I’ve got a webcomic I’m about to start publishing, but what if it gets taken down because someone leaves a comment on a page and has an avatar that used some promo art for some show? I know it seems like a stretch, but at the same time, there’s no way to know when that shit will sneak up on your site and fuck you over. 

If SOPA passes and proves immediately effective, which I think would mean eradicating pretty much every major site, then I’ve considered just erasing my entire internet presence altogether. Delete everything. I just don’t want to take any chances with getting sued over something retarded.

(I’m just depressed over megaupload is all, move along.)