The Featured Artists Coalition

Radiohead, David Gilmour, Jools Holland and Iron Maiden, among other heavy names in the United Kingdom's musician community, have joined something called The Featured Artists Coalition (FAC), which campaigns for the performers' and musicians' rights. We've heard this before from the big record labels; it usually means they're protecting their material against the evil fans who use their material for something other than listening. However, in this case it means something completely different: the artists and performers having the last word concerning their work, which would mean a big record deal couldn't remove our videos without the prior approval from the bands and artists. Sounds a bit like heaven, no?

But wait, it gets better. The artists in the FAC don't oppose the "illegal" download of their music. In fact, it embraces it:

"Digital technology has transformed how we buy and listen to music. In doing so it has radically altered the economic relationship between artists and consumers, and the business world that operates between the two."

The FAC recently had their first meeting, in which Blur's drummer Dave Rowntree, who sits at the board of directors commented, according to the FAC press release:

"The digital revolution has swept away the old music business of the 1960s, and changed forever the relationship between artists and fans. For companies who made their living sitting between the two, these are increasingly hard times, but for music makers and music fans this should be a fantastic opportunity.

"YouTube’s row with the PRS is the most recent example of just how fast the music industry is changing. There has never been a greater need for the collective voice of featured artists, whose music generates 95% of revenue in the industry, to be properly heard."

Hopefully, this campaign continues to grow and the big record labels finally embrace the new technologies and realize the fans are no criminals, but merely don't feel like paying for being a Living Room Rock God or building a relationship with their favorite artists.

For more information, please visit the Featured Artists Coalition website.

Quotes taken from A Manifesto for Fair Play Manifesto and FAC's 11th March Press Release.