When major music labels and movie studios go after file-sharing sites they often claim they are doing so to protect artists large and small. However, not all of them want to be saved from the evils of piracy.
When the founders of The Pirate Bay were sued in Sweden back in 2008 one of the 25 musical works named in the lawsuit was Max Peezay‘s album “Discokommitten”. It was an odd choice, since the hip-hop artist was known for his positive attitude towards sharing.
Peezay heard the news through the media. He wasn’t aware of the case at that point and when he asked some record label insiders to fill him in on the details, they came back with an interesting briefing.
“I was told that The Pirate Bay was run by a bunch of crooks and Nazis. That it was about money, that they made a lot of money,” Peezay says in a previously unreleased TPB AFK interview released today.
“I wondered why the record labels suddenly were interested in political ideologies. Isn’t this just about copyright? But they told me that we have to stick together in the music industry and fight piracy. They wanted me to join 100%,” he adds.
Crooks and Nazis
Peezay’s first instinct was to get out of the lawsuit as quickly as possible, but that was easier said than done. It took a while before he could arrange a meeting with a lawyer from music group IFPI, who tried to keep Peezay on board.
“IFPI’s main argument was that [the TPB operators] were bad guys doing shady business. At the end of the meeting I told them I wanted to pull my album out of the lawsuit anyway,” Peezay recalls.
However, IFPI said that it might not be possible for him to get out legally. Peezay was skeptical of this assessment and asked IFPI’s lawyer to confirm that on paper. A few days later the lawyer went back on his claim.
“It turned out that they had no grounds to tell me that I couldn’t drop the case. So we decided to pull out. We didn’t want to have anything to do with this case,” Peezay says.
Unlike the plaintiffs in the case, Peezay appreciates what TPB stands for. “Ideologically I think it’s great that culture is being shared like this. We should nurture that instead of strangling it.”
After Peezay pulled out IFPI made a public excuse for including him in the case without asking. That was the end of the uproar, but even today Peezay feels that music industry insiders treat him differently.
“It was made clear to me that [my withdrawal] wasn’t popular at all among the other labels and artists fighting for this. It was kind of threatening, nothing concrete but I realize I’m not as popular in the industry after my little spectacle,” he says.
Despite this setback for the copyright holders the Pirate Bay trial continued, albeit for a smaller amount in damages. Eventually the Pirate Bay Four were sentenced to prison time and damage payments.
Two of the founders continued fighting and submitted their case to the European Human Rights Court but this application was rejected last month. Peter Sunde, one of the defendants, pointed out this week that one of the key judges is not particularly neutral when it comes to copyright, suggesting that she may have been biased.
Despite all the legal troubles The Pirate Bay website remains online – and carries links to several of Max Peezay’s albums.
TPB AFK (extra material) Interview with Max Peezay
Source: “Why I Pulled Out of The Pirate Bay Trial,” An Artist’s Perspective
