I was sitting on my arse watching TV when the sounds of Atari Teenage Riot’s “Black Flags” began pumping out of my stereo. It was an ad for Sony’s latest handheld gaming system, the PS Vita. I was immediately confused. What was my favorite anti-corporate, OWS-supporting, revolutionary techno band doing selling their music to Sony, of all corporations?

I looked into it, and Alec Empire explains it all on the band’s Tumblr:

“If you are new to my music or me as a person you might not know that I had some beef with Sony in the year 1999 over a camcorder advert in South East Asia (a track of mine was basically used against my permission)…Even though the thing got settled in court kind of, I never felt they paid what they owed.”

He went on to say that in classic ATR style, they’ll be donating all proceeds to FreeAnons.org, a group that provides support for those who are facing prosecution for alleged involvement in “Anonymous” activities. The group states that they believe that community acts of internet protest are not crimes nor conspiracies and should not be prosecuted as such.

Well played, Alec Empire! Well played. –Heather Schofner