Civilized Chains Paper Shackles
The industry is the new form of slavery
Instead of shackles and chains
the artists is told to sign contracts with
Fine print that is hard to explain.
Exploiting artists in exchange
for money and fame just to make a name
The industry is the new form of slavery?No shackles, no chains, just paper and ink?Artists told to sign their freedom away?before they even get time to think.
Exploited for a look, a sound, a wave,?paid in promises, paid in clout,?They own your voice, your name, your work,?then slowly phase your presence out.
Fame is dangled like a loaded hook,?success defined by someone else’s gain,?You chase the dream, they keep the keys.
Like a bird with clipped wings living in a cage
They can’t leave but still it sings.
Same blueprint, different era, different names,?Colonizers came preaching “civilized” ways,?Shook hands, signed papers natives couldn’t read,?Stole the land, mined the soul, took more than they’d need.
Stripped the earth for gold, left scars in the ground,?Promised peace while the culture got drowned,?Now they do the same to the artist’s domain,?Extract the resource, discard the name.
If you listen close beneath the noise,
you can still hear the warning drum:
Nothing that eats your spirit alive
was ever meant to be freedom.
same theft, same lies, just better PR,
Power never changes the playbook,
it just updates the font.
Freedom isn’t taken with force anymore,
it’s signed away chasing survival,
And the loudest chains are the ones
you’re taught to call opportunity.
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