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SPIN: OK, for starters, who are you and why (and when) did you start the site?
Mike Schaffer: My name is Mike Schaffer; I work primarily as an IT Marketing Consultant in
the San Francisco Bay Area.
The Avrilution was conceived of by myself and a group of friends. There are
two others who contribute significantly to the campaign and decide its
direction plus a handful of our friends who have been giving us guidance and
support. The other two "Anne Complicista" and "Hue Cavrage" choose to work
anonymously because they both work in the music industry and do not want
their association with the campaign to be known at this time.
As someone who uses the web as a primary means of communication, I follow intellectual property law closely. It concerns me that the system has become very unbalanced in favor of copyright holders over the interests of society's free expression of culture.
The site went up in the first week of November 2002, it was formally launched
it its present form in the first week of January 2003.
SPIN: How much traffic have you had? What sort of attention are you receiving?
MS: We've had an average of 2,500 visitors per day. The Avril fans have been
great, they've been linking to us and sending us hits. There have been tons
and tons of threads on message boards and weblogs talking about the site and
stirring up interest. Also some big sites have helped a lot, including: USA
Today, Memepool, and Fark.
SPIN: In brief, what do you believe is the philosophy behind Avrilution? Who is it for?
MS: The Avrilution is for everyone, but there is a definite focus on young
people.
Anne Complicista: It's about kids needing to be able to create their own culture without big media companies ripping it from them and locking it up.
Hue Cavrage: Basically, all art is based on other art. Whether you're a musician or a painter or an architect, it's all about taking something that's out there that other people have done, taking inspiration from it and reinterpreting it
yourself, in your own vision, your own world view. We want the new
generations of creative people to have that same opportunity to create.
Without it, civilization will fall. Without fair use and the public domain,
we're in for the dark ages.
SPIN: Who "gets" it?
MS: Avrilutionaries are people who recognize and oppose the unprecedented
strangle hold that profiteering corporations have over the ways that our
society's culture is communicated and developed.
SPIN: Why Avril Lavigne?
AC: First of all Avril rocks! Seriously, she does. I'm sorry, she rocks.
HC: I think we all agree she rocks. But also, like, she's just a normal
kid. A couple years ago she was a nobody, and now here she is. She has a lot
in common with her fans. She's as much a product of pop culture as any of us,
but she's also managed to cling to her independence and takes pride in her
individuality. There's no doubt she'd be making different music if she wasn't
on a major label-but it's still her, it's still her music. And that's what
she represents, the pop culture machine come full circle.
MS: We think she'd make a great spokesperson for our campaign. We were
careful not to put any words in her mouth, so hopefully we won't get sued (ha
ha). Actually I've been told that she filed an amicus curiae [friend of the
court] brief in one of the Internet Radio cases, but I haven't been able to
find a copy of it. I think she has more of an interest in the workings of her
industry than people give her credit for. Maybe she can consider herself
drafted.
SPIN: What will you do with the petition?
MS: We haven't decided. If nothing else it's an easy way for people to register
their support without having to really put in any effort.
SPIN: Why did you put so much work into the site (petition, hotline, etc.)?
AC: The hotline was my idea. The site was kinda scrappy, and there still
isn't a tremendous amount of content. We have jobs, you know? But I thought
it was a good idea to give some indication that we were for real and to make
things more accessible. Feedback is key. You can't build a community and a
campaign without communication and input. You can't build a society without
those things either, but that's exactly what the media moguls would have us
do. That's what we're fighting against.
SPIN: How seriously should the site be taken?
MS: There's defiantly some light heartedness involved. Certainly more than
one-tongue-in-cheek remark. But we mean what we say. Some people have asked
if it's a satire, well in so far as the part about Avril "kicking Hillary
Rosen's ass" umm yeah, it's supposed to be amusing. We had to make the site
interesting to get people's attention. Besides, who could pass up such an
unflattering snapshot of the head of the RIAA? We have more of those if you
need any by the way, high-res too!
SPIN: What do you say to those who criticize the site (the haters) because they feel it's ironic that Avril Lavigne is on one of those corporate labels? Is that the point?
HC: The ironic aspects of picking Avril are not lost on us. The choice has
been somewhat controversial with some of our visitors who can't handle it.
But like we said before, it's not meant to be an attack on her. Avril Lavigne
isn't robbing our culture, in fact we're hoping that people who identify with
her for her individuality and "be yourself" attitude will take it to the next
level and do some critical thinking. If people can take inspiration from
Avril and take that rebellion to its logical conclusion, we're all set for a
revolution.
SPIN: How much steam does the Avrilution have? When will you throw in the towel?
MS: We're in this for the long haul. We'll do all we can and then we'll see where
we end up, hopefully there will be a lot of people with us when we get there.
SPIN: What's the latest news?
All: We intend to file an application to become a 501(c)3 non-profit organization are currently seeking prospective members for the board of directors, as well as funding. We'll have more details on this as we move along in the process.
We plan on inviting Avril or a designee to join our board in some capacity.
Once established we will be seeking grants to conduct workshops and perform
outreach to schools and youth groups. Spreading the message of the Avrilution
to young people everywhere.
We are also seeking the support of other similarly interested non-profits.
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![TALKIN' 'BOUT AN AVRILUTION Is Avril Lavigne the Che Guevara of pop? Yes--if you're an Avrilutionary. Whut? ''Avrilutionaries oppose the stranglehold that profiteering corporations have over how our society's culture is communicated,'' says Mike Schaffer, a California marketing consultant who created avrilution.com. The site aims to make the MTV darling the inspiration for a youth revolution and features a rousing synth call to arms. The movement may scream ironic prank, but Schaffer swears Avrilution[TM] is legit: ''We mean what we say.'' DAVE ALEXANDER](spin.jpg)
