Photo by Muhammad Ghafari — Some Rights Reserved

You can’t be free if you are not free to connect. Fortunately, sometimes government thuggery can lead to popular creativity.

As events continue to unfold in Egypt, the online community has been been providing more than just on the ground reporting; also circulating is information on how to get around the government’s takedown of internet and mobile access.

Here are some of the more creative and comprehensive resources:

Shervin Pishevar has created OPENMESH as a forum to exchange workarounds to these government communication crackdowns.

ReadWrite’s Hack channel follows the increased use of Tor and other solutions. Tor is a free and open source network that helps users escape from surveillance.

Wired’s How-to-Wiki is collecting recommendations, which ran the gamut from citizens band radio to ad-hoc networking to satellite phones.

We Rebuild Interfax is a community of net activists devoted to internet access for everyone, everywhwere.

Manal and Alaa’s “free speech from the bletches” proposes easy methods using good ol’ dial-up.

And, Global Voices has a special Egypt Protests 2011 section that is collecting a significant amount of on the ground reporting, news stories, global information and online resources.

When will governments realize that silence is no longer an option?

- Bill Reichblum

Photo by Mark Wainwright — Some Rights Reserved

There is very good news from the recording industry: creativity is back in business.

As posted in KadmusArts’s daily culture and entertainment news feed, two companies, Sony Music and Universal Music Group, announced a new plan that hits the trifecta of the music business: develop careers, defeat piracy, and make money.

It has been just over ten years since Metallica took on Napster. When the demo of their song, “I Disappear”, became available on Napster, Metallica became the first music group to fight piracy on the net. Metallica sued the file-sharing company for copyright infringement.

Back then Metallica drummer, Lars Ulrich, perfectly defined the issue: “We take our craft — whether it be the music, the lyrics, or the photos and artwork — very seriously, as do most artists. It is therefore sickening to know that our art is being traded like a commodity rather than the art that it is. From a business standpoint, this is about piracy — a.k.a taking something that doesn’t belong to you; and that is morally and legally wrong. The trading of such information — whether it’s music, videos, photos, or whatever - is, in effect, trafficking in stolen goods.”

In other words, before tenured academics started to lecture us about the benefits of artists relinquishing their copyrights, the music industry relied on Metallica to be the philosopher king of art and business.

Now, Sony and Universal are creating “instant pop”. Traditionally, companies release songs for air play six weeks before the songs become available for purchase. This practice, known as “setting up”, was instituted to build-up audience demand. However, the music industry has realized that the intervening time allowed plenty of opportunity for illegal downloads of the singles without revenue to the company or the artist. So Sony has developed a new approach which it calls “On Air, On Sale”. Universal will release a similar sale plan next month.

As reported by the Guardian, David Joseph, CEO of Universal Music UK, embraces the obvious: “Wait is not a word in the vocabulary of the current generation.” The music business has begun to turn the tide by realizing that instant gratification converts instant fans to instant cash.

This should spark a significant change in music marketing, as well. Previously, the business built their promotion campaigns for the first week of a release to get a high ranking in the Top 40. Now the marketing can go hand-in-hand with sales by being able to watch how well a new song is developing a fan base in real time. This change could create a more organic approach to selling artists. Instead of marketing dollars going all-in, trying to create a pre-determined hit, the dollars can be more judiciously spent by seeing what sells in the marketplace. Music companies can then have more flexibility in helping new artists have a better shot at building a hit, let alone a career.

“On Air, On Sale” is a simple idea. However, it’s one with significant ramifications. The music industry is no longer running away from our technology but embracing both the digital and social media revolutions to spark sales.

For all the festival and live event artists and fans, there’s even better news. As Tech Dirt noted in a post last March, Metallica makes more money from their performances than their album sales. Here’s the next step: On Stage, On Air, On Sale.

The recording biz is getting creative, again. As in the creation of all art, desperation can be an inspiration.

- Bill Reichblum

Photo by sanfamedia.com — Some Rights Reserved

In a complicated world, there is one simple way to evaluate the integrity of a government: are artists free to create?

This does not mean analyzing how well a government supports the arts and artists, or provides artistic opportunities, or educates audiences. Those are separate and distinct issues. The question is whether one gives legitimacy to a government that views free expression as an illegitimate right.

In the 21st century, how can anyone make an acceptable argument for a government that criminalizes art?

KadmusArts’ Culture News feed tracks the continuing tension between artistic expression and governmental control. Some of the low-lights over the past days include:

- Members of the Belarus Free Theatre were arrested and harassed for participating in peaceful demonstrations. They had to sneak out of their country to be able to perform in New York with one of their signature pieces about the price of freedom.

- The Hungarian government cracked down on a free press and demanded the equivalent of loyalty oaths from arts institutions.

- The Iraqi government fortunately suspended an earlier minister’s decision which had banned the teaching of music and theatre in secondary education.

- Zimbabwe police arrested actors on stage, along with their tour manager and driver, during a performance about “national healing and reconciliation”. The charge? Criminal nuisance.

- The Chinese government razed the studio of Ai Weiwei, who is one of China’s best known visual artists and one of the government’s most outspoken critics.

Why are governments afraid of artists connecting to audiences?

Last week, to protest the Russian justice system (which does not allow defendants to sit during their trial), playwright and director Mikhail Ugarov created a movement: “drop-a-chair-off” at the doorstep of the Tverskoi Court. A simple form of participatory art became a significant political action.

And, in a still developing story, the Tunisian government cut and ran after a perfect storm of blogs, Facebook posts, tweets, and other social nets challenged presidential decisions. Today’s user generated tools shine a light on old methods.

Has a work of art ever created a political revolution? No. But, has a work of art given us insight into crimes committed in the name of politics? Yes.

In today’s world, governments have a more difficult time isolating their population and silencing their artists. That’s not just a good thing; that’s a great thing.

- Bill Reichblum