Your Karaoke Is Illegal
In what seems a reductio ad absurdium, the Chinese government is looking to crack down on “unhealthy” karaoke songs. The Ministry of Culture will evidently issue regulations prohibiting the singing (using that term loosely) of such songs. Instead, customers will have to choose from a selection maintained in a centralized database.
One interesting aspect of this plan is that it appears to meet several goals: greater control over popular media content, enhanced protection of intellectual property rights (particularly interesting if, as I suspect, most of the songs and artists are Chinese, not foreign), and possibly revenue generation for the government. Censorship can have side benefits.
The amusing part of this is that China is apparently as ham-handed at trying to “get with the young people” as the U.S. government is. Any regime that produces a rap version of Mao’s teachings has much to answer for.
Filed under: Copyright, Digital Media, Intermediaries, Internet & Society, Media, Music
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