Many Artists are rallying to restore Net Neutrality. Of these artists, leading the pack are Tom Morello, Amanda Palmer, Speedy Ortiz, and Kimya Dawson, and they are highlighting the benefits of an open internet for artists. For those that don’t know, Net Neutrality established general rules for a more open and accessible internet: the rules ensured that internet service providers could not restrict access to certain content, slow down or speed up connection speeds, or hinder connectivity feeds (via wecb.fm).
The concept of Net neutrality was taken away under the Trump Administration. This was the case until recently when the Federal Communications Commission voted to move forward with a proposal to restore the concept this past October. Net neutrality affects everyone who uses the internet but artists are more vocal about the regulations as they balance corporate dominance in the worlds of arts and tech. This new open letter states that restoring net neutrality protections is one, of many policy changes “needed to protect art and give power back to artists.” (via RollingStones).
According to Rolling Stones, artists fear that without net neutrality it is only a matter of time until companies start to charge for online searches that artists depend on like Google, Amazon, Spotify and Instagram. Proving that net neutrality has a big influence on anyone who uses the internet whether you are a famous musician or the average consumer.