Public Knowledge Policy Counsel Panjwani. Does Google tell you exactly what to say or do you get to improvise a little? Change a word here and there, come up with the occasional pithy slogan?
Music Business WorldWide has an excellent article today noting that the Google backed Public Knowledge is crowing about “their” victory over music publisher (songwriters).
This group despises ‘bad behavior’ by music publishers. Guess who funds it?
That’s right Public Knowledge named as a “Google shill” in the Google v Oracle case, is crowing about the fact a former Google lawyer (Renata Hesse) now in the DOJ rammed through a change to the unconstitutional and repressive consent decrees that clearly benefits Google.
These people have become an existential threat to the livelihood of songwriters. This is not hyperbole, the existence of a professional class of songwriters is in question, simply because one company, Google seems to want more money and power. Doesn’t Google already have enough power and money? How much more money and power do these assholes need?
Fortunately they may have gone too far this time. I believe this now clearly warrants a congressional investigation of Renata Hesse at the Department of Justice and her connections to former clients and fake public interests groups like Public Knowledge that are funded by her former clients.
This is especially important because the DOJ antitrust division has completely gone off the rails. It is not just failing to do its job it is making matters worse. DOJ officials are apparently too stupid (or too corrupt) to realize (or care) that the overbearing and unconscionable consent decrees are not enhancing competition but are having the opposite effect:
- Enriching and entrenching monopolies/monopsonies like Google.
- Devastating songwriters revenues, which in turn is driving massive consolidation in the music publishing business.
I suggest you write your congressional representatives. In your own words, tell them you are concerned about the appearance of corruption in the Department of Justice antitrust division. Note that a former Google lawyer now DOJ official Renata Hesse has pushed through a change to the rules that restricts the rights of songwriters while benefitting Google.
http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
The Trichordist 
David – thankyou for your continued support of the little guy in the face of the corporate protocols that seek to steal from the little guy agin and agin and again – please carry on, please do not settle with spotify, we need you to carry on exposing and holding these criminals to account.