Nelson, co-CEO

Way back in the middle 80’s my father told me about the Internet and I became obsessed with the notion that I could publish information that others could see without having to go through one of the established media outlets and their channels .  By the early 90’s I had already achieved some success with my content being used on ESPN and MTV shows and even having a video distributed nationally in major chain’s. I was in the position to experience what happens when those “major” outlets don’t want to play with you or your content anymore.  It goes dark never to be seen by the public.Today, when these same major outlets are teetering on the verge of becoming just another player in a larger confluence of an interconnected world and choose instead of embracing the change, they resist. And, to carry the absurdity of this false choice to resist change they are deliberately misstating the cost & impact of piracy’s, which a very good case has been made that they where the main distributors of the software that they now say is causing this piracy problem.

If the problem is not piracy then what is the problem.  To me  it’s a misunderstanding of nature of our industry with independent & major  labels being consider the same for some things like legislation, policies and trade practices by groups that are supposed to represent the industry when in fact these position more often are the total opposite of what us mere tax paying non-multinational corporations “MNC” desire.

When it comes to SOPA or PIPA, the supporters if you look at it from the Indie perspective are just tying to keep their nearly cold dead corporate hands around something that is so basic to human nature ~arts & music~ that if they succeed they will alter the very nature and structure of humanity. Which to me is sharing a creation amongst ourselves that has meaning because it springs from works what have already rooted themselves within the fabric of our society.

In order for us to move forward in an age of digital and technological progress, we must be able to act impartial and realize that both sides have needs – not just wants. Big corporations, Indie representatives, politicians and most importantly, you the people, all have differing opinions on what is best. Everyone must voice their concerns, but must also wait their turn and listen to the others. The time is now to add our voice…

By blacking out our own site, we are adding our voice to this very important conversation. The compensation of creators is something that we hold dear to our heart and our jobs since without content our hearts are heavy and we as a industry lose this awesome new creative outlet, that is really just in it’s late teens.  While we know piracy is an issue, we disagree that SOPA or PIPA is the way to deal with it for the Independents.  Finding an agreement to avoid problems and potential revolutions that emerge from denying a populations freedom start with individuals like us that choose to blackout our own site as an act of protest.