Ted Cogswell is a rock writer, former local music editor at The New Brunswick Banner, freelancer at places like Relix and the recipient of a cease and desist from Rolling Stone Magazine for the Facebook Page and “blogspot of his blog “The People’s Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame”.
This is how a magazine cyber bullies everything and everyone it sees. Wednesday morning Ted posted the following:
“Many of you are familiar with a website I have run for the last couple of years called The People’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. It is just a fun project where music fans vote on who they think should be considered hall of famers. Well, yesterday morning I received a cease and desist letter from Jann Wenner’s Rock Hall claiming violation of their intellectual property. Apparently they were concerned that my little blogspot website and corresponding Facebook page would be confusing to people who might think it is an official Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum website. Within a few hours of getting that, Facebook shut down the page here with no warning. My initial reaction was “well, fuck it.” But after sleeping on it I am pissed. Apparently Jann and his lawyers feel like only THEY have the right to decide what a rock music “hall of fame” can be. They, quite literally, have decided to shut down the people. Not sure what I’m going to do, but I feel like I should at least try and publicize the whole thing so more people know how petty and self-important they are. Any thoughts?”
The first thing that comes to mind is the speed at which Facebook did his master Jann’s bidding. Has anybody known Facebook to respond to anything from anyone? In the closed up world of power and money, in, to paraphrase Paul Simon, the loose affiliation of billionares and zillionaires, things are done differently: treading on the neck of guys trying to run an honest music blog comes with the territory to the place where it isn’t even noted.
Many people dislike Jann’s over reach with The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame -not only was the New York Annex a big stupid bore but the entire enterprise, much like his magazine, is legal blackmail: if you are Jann’s buddy, if he likes you and pals with you, bang you’re in. Amd if he doesn’t? Forget about it.
Obviously, the Monkees is the top offender but their are many and Cogswell’s website was (is) a correlative to the entire enterprise. The People’s Hall of Fame because The People have nothing to do with the current one. Wenner’s HoF is antithetical to the spirit and the nature of rock and roll. It is an elitist self-serving enterprise for the one percenters that has no sense of the people it is made for: there isn’t a more stone deaf business model. People hate it, it does nothing to better any one but Wenner and his minions.
It is repulsive.
Here is what Cogswell is doing that upset Rolling Stones batterry of attorneys making good on $500 an hour: “The People’s Rock Music Hall of Fame was established in January, 2010 as way for actual rock ‘n’ roll fans to finally have their say. Every month there will be an election to determine who will be honored by the only Hall of Fame BY and FOR the people. When we catch up to the Cleveland Rock Hall, we will be able to present a distinctly different take on the rock ‘n’ roll pantheon and can continue adding inductees on an annual basis.”
Cogswell, after some tooth grinding, stuck up a disclaimer on the Facebook Page and changed the name of his blog and is back in business.
1. There was no reason he should have been forced to change the name of his website.
2. It is insulting to all of us that Facebook would remove Ted’s Page without contacting him at all, simply on the word of high priced attorneys (Please don’t get me started on high priced lawyers) .
Between RS and FB it is an insult to not just Ted but all of us: it is undignified and silly and makes Cogswell’s point about how unrepresentative the Wenner enterprise is, all the more important. The end result of unbridled capitalism is the same as it ever was: monopolies and those who own the monopolies will do anything necessary to maintain them.
Ted changed the name of his blogspot and you can check it out here http://peopleshallblog.blogspot.com/