Industry Liabilities Around The League

          Irish singer-songwriter Sinead O’Connor has threatened sexpot Miley Cyrus of Hannah Montana fame with legal action if she doesn’t apologize for taunting her online in the wake of a series of passionate letters O’Connor has written to the former Disney actress regarding her late raunchy public antics. O’Connor charges that Cyrus took below the belt jabs at the state of her mental health in her response, potentially doing irreversible damage to her career. The feud began when Miley explained in a recent cover story in Rolling Stone magazine that her controversial “Wrecking Ball” video was inspired by O’Conner’s classic video, “Nothing Compares To U”. O’Connor responded with a public letter accusing Cyrus of pimping and prostituting herself to people who “don’t give much of a [expletive] about [her].” Cyrus fired back on Twitter with “Before Amanda Bynes, there was…” followed by a screen shot of O’Connor’s tweets desperately seeking out psychiatric help two years ago.
          I believe both singers are in the wrong and showed no class when dealing with each other. Instead of being humbled by Miley’s compliment in Rolling Stone, O’Connor went on the offensive and made herself vulnerable to attack. Instead of letting Sinead’s letter fall on blind eyes and deaf ears, Miley herself went on the offensive bringing attention to somebody who had nothing to do with the argument. So does Sinead O’Connor have a case? Probably not but the moral of this story is that Twitter shouldn’t be used for personal attacks because the whole world is watching you (and at times egging you on) and the utmost professionalism should be a standard at all times.

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          Meanwhile, Robin Thicke’s summer anthem, “Blurred Lines” has apparently been getting people in a lot of hot water lately. The video for the Pharrell Williams produced chart topping hit that features dirty south rapper TI, features three topless models in an unrated video on Vevo. “Blurred Lines” is in the midst of controversy in Scotland where it’s facing a ban by the Edinburgh University Students’ Association to back up its “End Rape Culture”. Defiers of the ban will have to answer to complaints and face harsh repercussions. The song has also lead to the firing of a high school dance coach in Wisconsin for a dance routine performed at halftime to the song. Though, the coach has exhibited the utmost professionalism during her time at the school according to some of the parents, the school stands behind their decision and is seeking out a new candidate for the position.
          My opinion on the whole thing? Get a life, people. The EUSA is insinuating that if the song is not banned, people are going to be raped because of it; the charge is outrageous. If someone is going to rape someone, they are going to get the urge to do it to other songs beside this one. How can an institution be free, equal and accepting if they go around banning something as simple as an infectious chart topping song? Scary thing is that the banning culture in other countries is beginning to trickle in to the United States as seen with the example in Wisconsin. People should be free to blow their eardrums out to whatever they want. I say, “blow their eardrums out” because I can’t listen to this song without playing it full blast.

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          Finally, step aside Kickstarter; there’s a new sheriff in town. Remember when crowdfunding meant that you could become a backer? Well, all that’s about to change because now you can become an investor. Equity crowdfunding has taken off in Europe, and though there are still many legal hurdles here in the states, we are well on our way to follow suit. Conventional crowdfunding means you back a project that you hold near and dear to your heart and receive perks from the creators as a thank you for your contributions. “Equity crowdfunding means that you can become a [business] partner in a company, venture or product.”
          So, what does it mean for crowdfunding as a whole if conventional crowdfunding is foreshadowed by equity crowdfunding? I have no problem with people using equity crowdfunding if it works for them unless there is potential for fraud, abuse and cronyism. I know that if I’m going to use crowdfunding to fund my product, I’m most likely going to use Kickstarter because I like its system and it would work for me. However, when you say the word equity, the little hairs on the back of government go up. The only worry I have is that crowdfunding becomes another issue that this massive government gets their grubby little paws on because it’s going so good for the individual. They seem to know how to mess this kind of stuff up for people.