Last Friday, a popular internet music weblog, Chocolate Bobka received a Blogger DMCA takedown notification since he posted bootlegged tracks by the popular internet indie band Animal Collective. This was 'devastating news', particularly after Blogger went on a controversial deletion spree, deleting blogs that had violated digital rights multiple times. Many MP3 bloggers find that this big brother-esque policy is unfair since some of these tracks are authorized, or at least 'widely distributed' on the internet.

Many bloggers and websites feel responsible for 'creating' Animal Collective with authentic internet blog buzz and coverage.  This is possibly the biggest scandal in the history of internet music, since it seems like Animal Collective is 'fighting back' against the forces that theoretically 'made' them.

Here is a critical email that the Alt Report received from the Chocolate Bobka blogger describing the situation:

Hey,

So. Here's the deal. I went to the AnCo MPP Listening Party (thrown by Domino) on October 28th 2008 in NYC. 14 blog years ago. I then wrote up my 'thoughts' about the 'experience'/'album' on CB. (Here: http://chocolatebobka.blogspot.com/2008/10/animal-collective-listening-party.html)

At the bottom of the post I posted two mp3s that had been 'floating' around the WWW for months. They were from a widely circulated Lisbon, Portugal bootleg. The same show is available, for free, to download, in FLAC, on Archive.org. (here: http://www.archive.org/details/acollective2008-05-28.4061.flac16) DMCA/Blogger took down the post (made it a 'draft') claiming "certain content in your blog is alleged to infringe upon the copyrights of others." I then took out the old links, and added a link to the Archive DL. This shit is so whack. Ha.

McG
ChocolateBobka.com
The-Report.org

In a previous interview with the Irish State Magazine, Noah Lennox goes on record, claiming that he supports fans sharing bootlegs:

Fans of the band have taken to documenting these gigs the old fashioned way – through bootlegging. Animal Collective are only too happy to let that continue – “It feels really good man,” Noah enthuses. “To realise people are so hyped on it that they are downloading bootlegs and trading tapes and all that. I know for some of the guys in the band – with bands like Pavement and Grateful Dead – they were part of a community who would trade tapes and stuff. So they are psyched they are doing that with our music too. It’d good that people care and like the music so much to do that kind of thing. ”

If AnCo is chill with bootlegging,why do u think they are 'going after' mp3 blogs for posting their material?  Will blogs be scared to post Animal Collective in the future?  Posting premature bootlegs + youtube videos of early Animal Collective and Panda Bear work has been critical in building buzz for their releases.   It seems like the whole internet web marketing game is completely changing as artists  protect their digital rights.

Is AnCo 'coming after' blogs + alt internet websites?
Should all Mp3 blogs move off Blogger?
Do artists have the right to 'protect their music', or should they embrace the blogosphere?
Will Animal Collective 'come after' Pitchfork for embedding their music on their website?
Are indie bands no longer in control of their own brand?
Will major label watch dogs prevent the free proliferation of music in the future [via premature album leaks]?
Does this mean we are no longer 'on the same team' with Animal Collective?

Should we just blame their record label, DOMINO RECORDS?
Is AnCo the Metallica of indie music?