Prince And The Pirate Bay – A Litigation Fairytale

Continuing his crusade to control his own content, Prince is planning lawsuits against Bit-Torrent indexer Pirate Bay in the US, France (which has favorable copyright laws) and the notorious site’s home country of Sweden. The lawsuits will extend to companies that advertise on Pirate Bay according to cNet.

Prince has hired John Giacobbi and Web Sheriff, a service that tries to protect against Internet piracy, to mount legal challenges against anyone who he believes has violated his copyrights. Most recently, Prince has also sued YouTube and sent notices to fan sites demanding that they not even use photos that he owns or controls.

COMMENTARY: The Dueling Masters Of Art & Commerce
Prince actions may seem excessive and futile to many, but they also point out a major twist in "the artist controlling his own destiny" trend.  Now when an artist feels wronged, not just by pirates but by anyone, he can no longer point fingers and demand action. In Music 2.0, the D.I.Y. artist must mount his own draining and expensive offensive.