Billy Bragg talks Google, MySpace and creator rights in the digital era

If you're launching a campaign to portray Google as the bad guy in a dispute over licensing payments, don't give Pete Waterman a microphone. That's the lesson from today's launch of PRS for Music's Fair Play for Creators campaign.A millionaire music mogul comparing his paltry YouTube royalty cheques to the plight of exploited construction workers living in squalor in Dubai is, frankly, ridiculous. And it undermines the very serious message that PRS is trying to get across about rights for all songwriters and composers – not just the rich ones.Thankfully, other voices were present at today's launch, including Billy Bragg. Music Ally sat down with him at the event to get his views on the campaign, and the wider issues around it. It certainly provides a counterpoint to Waterman's “fucking unbelievable” (in Bragg's words) comments.Read on…Music Ally: What's this campaign about for you?Billy Bragg: “I've had in mind for quite a while that artists need to organise, because decisions are being made at a national and trans-national level that deeply affect us. About issues around copyright, issues around ownership…The internet has incredible potential. It's not something to be afraid of. I sometimes worry that the British music industry – the [...]