Musician Claims He Was Tricked Into Appearing In Anti-Piracy Video

from the duped dept

Australian guitarist Lindsay McDougall was asked to appear in a film that he was told would be about what it was like to try surviving as a musician -- and only later realized that it was actually part of an industry-backed anti-piracy campaign. He's quite upset about it, as he claims he would never take part in an anti-piracy campaign if he'd known that's what it was:

"I have never come out against internet piracy and illegal downloading and I wouldn't do that - I would never put my name to something that is against downloading and is against piracy and stuff, it's something that I believe is a personal thing from artist to artist.... I would never be part of this big record industry funded campaign to crush illegal downloads, I'm not like [Metallica drummer] Lars Ulrich. I think it's bullshit, I think it's record companies crying poor and I don't agree with it....I'm from a punk rock band, it's all about getting your music out any way you can - you don't make money from the record, the record companies make the money from the record. If they can't make money these days because they haven't come onside with the way the world is going, it's their own problem."

The folks who put together the movie claim that they were clear upfront about the movie and who was making it. They also say that the movie only has a small segment that's anti-piracy -- but that's not quite accurate. The rest of the movie basically just plays up how tough it is to be a musician on a major label and how difficult it is to make money as a musician. While there are some segments about how useful the internet is, the overriding message is definitely a combination of "think of the poor musician" and "don't file share." It's definitely not a pure anti-piracy film, and it does have some balance -- but it definitely does push the anti-piracy message.

Filed Under: anti-piracy, australia, lindsay mcdougall, musicians, recording industry