Robocopyright (Connor Rapper Remix)

[Intro: Dan Bull]
It's difficult to picture some enemies
Unless we give them an identity
The newest entity we've got to fight
Is Article 13, I call it "Robocopyright"

[Verse 1: Dan Bull]
I've been doing music on the net for two flipping decades
Even before YouTube, on a Geocities webpage
And every time I see the regulations get changed
It's harder for creatives to make it
So yes, I'm enraged

[Verse 2: Connor Rapper]
And though I've been around for a lot less time
And I've dropped less rhymes
I won't just stand by
And watch the big dogs and cats
Claw their power back
They growl and snap
Want us to lay down flat

[Verse 3: Dan Bull]
Look at my track record
I put a lot of time
Into coming up with tracks, records and dropping rhymes
On the fight to democratize copyright
To shine a spotlight on Anonymous and Occupy

[Verse 4: Connor Rapper]
It's horrifying that a monster giant corporation
Is all that's separating us from our freedom
The large keep us in the dark for a reason
To sneak their evil schemes in
Without us perceiving

[Verse 5: Dan Bull]
I took a bit of time off to rap about games
But now I'm back and I'm not backing out again
Passing out castigations and patting down your claim
No matter how you obfuscate, your rationale's insane
Maybe you'll get the picture when I smack you out the frame
Because I don't want to see the internet blacking out for shame (huh)
But that's what's happening now
Yet again
A threatening mechanism checking on everything you say

[Verse 6: Connor Rapper]
Take this as a warning
A new age is set to be dawning
It could all change when you wake in the morning
The safe space you created
Caged and castrated
Now you and your new overlord are aquainted

[Chorus 1: Dan Bull]
All hail Robocopyright (yeah)
Our great leader
I'd rather my router wasn't changed to rate meter
All hail Robocopyright
Our great leader
All hail Robocopyright
Our great leader

[Verse 7: Dan Bull]
MEP's have voted (yep) and I don't like their decision (nope)
I'd diagnose it as a nightmare condition
Of a quite rare position
Where we can't upload (nope) any kind of copyrighted clip
Without their permission

[Verse 8: Connor Rapper]
I have a suspicion that they did it for their own gain
And hid it under the guise of "it's okay"
It's for you guys to help keep your stuff safe
It's like speaking to the hungry with a stuffed face
It's like we were gave a motor
To race the roads, and we'd barely even started to make it smoke
But they've told us it's broke
'Cause we've driven it too far
And we've been given a new car

[Verse 9: Dan Bull]
Now it's seems pretty good if you just look at the surface
But peep under the hood, the engine isn't fit for purpose
And if we still don't trust AI in Teslas yet
Then pray, why Would we let it suppress the net?
And lest we forget SOPA and ACTA
The Digital Economy Act and every tactic
The copyright lobbyists lob at us hobbyists
The obfuscating confidence tricks are pretty obvious

[Verse 10: Connor Rapper]
How could this possibly be prophesied as prosperous
Potentially leaving people that I know jobless
Politicians picking what's best for the Internet
Without the common knowledge of everything that it will affect
And yes there are some who take the system and abuse it
But you don't throw out a batch of apples 'cause of a few bruises
I really hope our efforts aren't rendered useless
'Cause of how confusing they've worded laws to try and fool us

[Verse 11: Dan Bull]
They make it sound like it's benefiting small creators (great)
To make them all successful ever more for all the ages (great)
But look at labels and the way they've always treated artists (not well)
If you can't see they won't change, you need new glasses

[Verse 12: Connor Rapper]
If this passes, I don't know what I'll bloody do
Getting started in this day and age is hard enough to do
And after all this work I don't want to find a substitute
We have to fight this plight, we've got so much to lose (so much)

[Verse 13: Dan Bull]
It isn't about creative control, nah
It's about controlling creatives for cold cash
They want money for old rope, it's old hat
It's an old trope anybody could have told that (ah)
We've surrounded by constant IP
Imagine real life with Content ID
A conglomerate deciding what your eyes see
When there's nothing else left they'll copyright me

[Bridge]
Why bother with a doctor?
You've got a faith healer
Acting like a god
But you're a lay preacher
Hey Jesus save me 'cause I don't need a gatekeeper
'Til I'm at the heavenly gates and meeting St. Peter

[Chorus 2]
All hail Robocopyright
Our great leader
You're never gonna drain the swamp if you wade deeper
All hail Robocopyright
Our great leader
All hail Robocopyright
Our great leader

[Verse 14: Dan Bull]
Do you trust the judgement of an algorithm?
To look at everything you touch and make a sound decision?
To value satire or parody and tell the difference?
Or controlled by copyright trolls we know they're well malicious

[Verse 15: Connor Rapper]
Cutting us underneath the surface like it's cell division
Take any video essay and look how well it's written
Grammatical prowess that academics would be proud of
But if they use one image off of Google, then it's now gone

[Verse 16: Dan Bull]
It's already tough enough to make a parody
Some of us have given up because of copyright brutality
Cash grabbing companies take money for morality
Knowing full well they're falsifying the legality
As if It wasn't bad enough already with net neutrality
They've done it again, it's the definition of insanity
How can we trust a robot to know what's permissible
That only sees the content but context's invisible
It's risible, derisible, befitting of our ridicule
At least It would if the reality wasn't so miserable (uh)
Every single picture you submit will be conditional
Article 11's even restricting what is clickable

[Verse 17: Connor Rapper]
These ads won't be skippable
It's not that typical
Of me to have a cynical view of something political
But if it's criminal to use what's previously been done
Will I be charged just for saying "lyrical miracle"?

[Verse 18: Dan Bull]
It's vulnerable to abuse commercial and political
Like unelected politicians slipping us rohypnol
So if you all care about it make people aware about it
Get on the phone get on the web get on the air and shout it

[Chorus 3: Dan Bull]
All hail Robocopyright
Our great leader
Cutting off the trailers so you can't see the main feature
All hail Robocopyright
Our great leader
All hail Robocopyright
Our great leader

[Outro: Dan Bull] (x2)
It's difficult to picture some enemies
Unless we give them an identity
The newest entity we've got to fight
Is Article 13, I call it Robocopyright