When Article 13 was announced there was immediate backlash. Article 13, to put it simply, will result in stricter copyright laws on YouTube, Reddit, Facebook and other websites designed for people to distribute digital content.
Initially, it seemed like Article 13 would primarily affect memes and comedy content on the internet, but recent revisions seemed to have excluded memes due to it being “parody content”.
So who or what is affected by Article 13?
Well, in my opinion, primarily young creatives trying to release their work online.
I recently found myself listening to Chance The Rapper’s 10 Day and it dawned on me that Article 13 will make it near impossible for another independent artist like Chance The Rapper to exist.
For many artists (in music and beyond), social media and content sharing websites are the only way they can be discovered. Through these websites they can create freely and release independently, sampling their favourite artists and taking inspiration from them.
Article 13 doesn’t allow for this kind of content. All the samples would need to be approved, and they’d have to ensure their music doesn’t sound too familiar to any other artists’ (or risk being removed from the website due to copyright).
The only way a new artist can release sampled music proceeding Article 13 will be by creating their own independent website to distribute it, which will not realistically give them the same exposure.
For example, I can Tweet and it will be seen a minimum of 200 times. If I release something on my website, it will be seen a minimum of 15 times (that’s 7.5% of the exposure).
Article 13 is a leash on the next-generation of creative’s necks, potentially making it even harder to make a career in already difficult industries.
SIR THORNEY 