Kathleen Hanna, Tegan and Sara, More Back Internet Archive in $621 Million Copyright Fight

Kathleen Hanna, Tegan and Sara, and Amanda Palmer are among the 300-plus musicians who have signed an open letter supporting the Internet Archive as it faces a $621 million copyright infringement lawsuit over its efforts to preserve 78 rpm records. 

The letter, spearheaded by the digital advocacy group Fight for the Future, states that the signatories “wholeheartedly oppose” the lawsuit, which they suggest benefits “shareholder profits” more than actual artists. It continues: “We don’t believe that the Internet Archive should be destroyed in our name. The biggest players of our industry clearly need better ideas for supporting us, the artists, and in this letter we are offering them.”

Palmer, in a statement shared with Rolling Stone, says, “It’s an ironic gut punch to musicians and audiences alike to see that the Internet Archive could be destroyed in the name of protecting musicians. For decades, the Internet Archive has had the backs of creators of all kinds when no one else was there to protect us, making sure that old recordings, live shows, websites like MTV News, and diverse information and culture from all over the world had a place where they’d never, ever be erased, carving out a haven where all that creativity and storytelling was recognized as a critically valuable contribution to an important historic archive.”

Other artists who signed the letter include Deerhoof, Cloud Nothings, Open Mike Eagle, Diiv, Franz Nicolay of the Hold Steady, Eve 6, Mary Lattimore, Real Estate, Julia Holter, Kimya Dawson, Caroline Rose, Merrill Garbus (Tune-Yards), the Old 97’s Rhett Miller, Real Estate, Speedy Ortiz, Sarah Tudzin (Illuminati Hotties), Spencer Tweedy, Ted Leo, Brian Aubert of Silvers Pickups, Michael Travis of the String Cheese Incident, and Anjimilie. (The full letter, and a list of signatories, is here.)

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