WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The Digital Freedom Campaign, a national effort to preserve digital technology rights, signed-up more than a dozen bands and hundreds of consumers during the College Music Journal (CMJ) Music Marathon in New York last week. More consumers have joined the campaign online since its launch on October 25th. The campaign seeks to protect the rights of individuals, including artists, innovators and consumers, to make lawful use of digital technology free from government restrictions or costly lawsuits from the big record labels and movie studios.

"The Digital Freedom Campaign holds as its core value that new technologies are essential to the creativity and innovation that have allowed this nation to thrive," said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association. "The fact that the campaign has taken off so quickly illustrates just how passionate innovators, consumers and artists alike are about this issue."

"We all agree that piracy is wrong -- that's not the issue here," added Shapiro. "But as we fight commercial piracy, we need to recognize that ordinary consumers are not pirates and should not be treated as such."

"The results from the college music festival are a sign that musicians and artists recognize that Digital Freedom is in their best interests," said Gigi B. Sohn, president of Public Knowledge. "Musicians and artists also want the freedom to create and to distribute and sell their work, much as consumers want the ability to use digital technologies to listen to music as they want. Digital Freedom unleashes innovation for independent artists and for consumers. That's a message the big record companies don't want musicians to hear."

For more information about the Digital Freedom campaign, please visit us at http://www.digitalfreedom.org/.

About Digital Freedom: Digital technology enables literally anyone and everyone to be a creator, an innovator or an artist -- to produce music, to create cutting-edge videos and photos, and to share their creative work. Digital technology empowers individuals to enjoy these new works when, where, and how they want, and to participate in the artistic process. These are basic freedoms that must be protected and nurtured. The Digital Freedom campaign is dedicated to defending the rights of students, artists, innovators, and consumers to create and make lawful use of new technologies free of unreasonable government restrictions and without fear of costly and abusive lawsuits.

CONTACT: Jennifer Stoltz, +1-202-448-3145, jstoltz@qorvis.com, for
Digital Freedom Campaign

Web site: http://www.digitalfreedom.org/