FMC works hard to help musicians understand the importance of net neutrality, and we understand how tricky it is to explain the concept in a way that doesn’t make your eyes glaze over. That’s one of the reasons we started the Rock the Net campaign and, with nearly a thousand members, so far so good.
Of course, we’re always looking for new ways to get the word out about this crucial principle that preserves your ability to upload and download legal content on the web without corporate interference. That’s why we’re thrilled to partner with realizePhiladelphia — a non-profit group that promotes social causes through musical and educational events — for a multi-faceted project called Web.illish.us.
Web.illish.us is a website, a blog, and a series of webcasts and rock shows, all designed to promote net neutrality and democratic access to media in a very cool way.
The shows will be taking place in Philadelphia at Silk City (5th and Spring Garden) on the third Wednesday of the month from November 19, 2008 til February 18, 2009. Each event will highlight a different aspect of net neutrality and will feature musical talent of national, regional and local notoriety; two DJ sets; special guests (bloggers, artists, politicians); and music and technology related giveaways. And the events will be webcast, too, so you if you’re not near Philly, you can still “virtually” attend!
Wed, November 19
“Level up, ppl”
Silk City
435 Spring Garden St., Philadelphia, PA
9 PM
The first event will focus on how the level playing field that net neutrality provides is positively impacting creators and musicians.
Performers: Black Landlord * Tuphace * DJ C Sharp
Panelists/speakers:
Kristin Thomson, Future of Music Coalition
William Lewis, Big Bloc Entertainment
Taj Walton, studio engineer/producer
Marcy Rauer Wagman, Entertainment Attorney; Associate Professor, Drexel University; CEO, MAD Dragon Unltd.
Geoff DiMasi, P’unk Avenue
Future episodes will focus on:
- December 2008
“Digital Love” will focus on the importance of Digital Inclusion, a belief that communities of various incomes should have equal access to broadband and the internet.
- January 2009
“Kiss My RSS” will highlight the importance of Participatory Democracy, and how blog culture shapes views on social issues, political issues, and available entertainment. RSS, the shorthand for online syndication, has been monumental in how individuals access information as a supplement to mass media.
- February 2009
“Threads & Cred” will focus on how net neutrality strengthens Creative Culture by facilitating innovation, rapid prototyping and collaboration. "Threads & Cred" refers to dialogue threads (as well as, a pun on clothing) and the credibility that is necessary to survive in a Creative Culture community.
Check out the Web.illish.us site for more info, and join their Facebook group!