Album Cover Robocopyright

Robocopyright

Dan Bull

6

It′s difficult to picture some enemies

Unless we give them an identity

The newest entity we've got to fightIs Article 13, I call it Robocopyright

I′ve been doing music on the net for two flipping decades

Even before YouTube, on a GeoCities web page

And every time I see the regulations get changed

It's harder for creators to make it, so yes, I'm enraged

Look at my track record, I put a lot of time

Into coming up with tracks, records and dropping rhymes

On the fight to democratise copyright

To shine a spotlight on Anonymous and Occupy

I took a bit of time off to rap about games

But now I′m back and I′m not backing out again

Passing out castigations and patting down your claim

No matter how you obfuscate, your rationale's insane

Maybe you′ll get the picture when I smack you out the frame

'Cause I don′t want to see the Internet blacking out for shame

But that's what′s happening now, yet again

A threatening mechanism checking on everything you say

All hail Robocopyright (yeah)

Our great leader! (Freedom!)

I'd rather my router wasn't changed to a rate meter

All hail Robocopyright

Our great leader! (Freedom!)

All hail Robocopyright

Our great leader!

MEPs have voted, and I don′t like their decision

I′d diagnose it as a nightmare condition

Of a quite rare position, where we can't upload

Any kind of copyrighted clip without their permission

Now, it seems pretty good, if you just look at the surface

But peep under the hood, the engine isn′t fit for purpose

And if we still don't trust AI in Teslas yet

Then pray why would we let it suppress the net?

And lest we forget SOPA and ACTA

The Digital Economy Act and every tactic

That copyright lobbyists lob at us, hobbyists

The obfuscating confidence tricks are pretty obvious

They make it sound like it′s benefitting small creators (Great!)

To make them all successful ever more for all the ages (Great!)

But look at labels and the way they've always treated artists (Not well!)

If you can′t see they won't change, you need new glasses

It isn't about creative control, nah!

It′s about controlling creatives for cold cash!

They want money for old rope, it′s old hat!

It's an old trope, anybody could have told that!

We′re surrounded by constant IP

Imagine real life with Content ID

A conglomerate deciding what your eyes see

When there's nothing else left, they′ll copyright me

(Freedom!) Why bother with a doctor?

You've got a faith healer (Freedom!)

Acting like a god, but you′re a lay preacher (Freedom!)

Hey, Jesus, save me, 'cause I don't need a gatekeeper (Freedom!)

′Til I′m at the heavenly gates and meeting Saint Peter

All hail Robocopyright

Our great leader! (Freedom!)

You're never gonna drain the swamp if you wade deeper

All hail Robocopyright

Our great leader! (Freedom!)

All hail Robocopyright

Our great leader!

Do you trust the judgment of an algorithm?

To look at everything you touch and make a sound decision?

To value satire or parody and tell the difference?

Or controlled by copyright trolls, we know they′re well malicious

It's already tough enough to make a parody

Some of us have given up because of copyright brutality

Cash grabbing companies take money for morality

Knowing full well they′re falsifying the legality

As if it wasn't bad enough already with net neutrality

They′ve done it again, it's the definition of insanity

How can we trust a robot to know what's permissible?

That only sees the content, but context′s invisible

It′s risible, derisible, befitting of our ridicule

It least it would if the reality wasn't so miserable (boo)

Every single picture you submit will be conditional

Article 11′s even restricting what is clickable

It's vulnerable to abuse, commercial and political

Like unelected politicians slipping us rohypnol

So if you all care about it, make people aware about it

Get on the phone, get on the web, get on the air and shout it!

All hail Robocopyright

Our great leader! (Freedom!)

Cutting off the trailers, so you can′t see the main feature

All hail Robocopyright

Our great leader! (Freedom!)

All hail Robocopyright

Our great leader!

It's difficult to picture some enemies

Unless we give them an identity

The newest entity we′ve got to fight

Is Article 13, I call it Robocopyright

It's difficult to picture some enemies

Unless we give them an identity

The newest entity we've got to fight

Is Article 13, I call it Robocopyright