But there's another side to this, and I doubt there's anything that can be done about it. Art, in any form, has long been considered a product of love not profit. No one would think the work and material and time that goes into making an item such as a light bulb is born from love or that the end product should be offered up for all of society to enjoy for free. For some reason, creativity, in any form is viewed differently. Not to say people do not want to put out big bucks for a Van Gogh or a first edition of Alice in Wonderland. Eventually, creations are valued. Unfortunately, I think the Internet is the biggest reason there is a free for all attitude on music and books today.
The Internet has introduced millions to what they might not otherwise know. It enriches. Yet, it also takes away. What do you think? Can I blame the Internet?
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19 comments:
Brenda, excellent point--what is it that makes people think because something is artistically created, it should be free. I had the same problem, come to think of it, years ago when I did craft work for sale in my hippie days--I never could charge anything close to a decent hourly rate. As for the internet, the problem is that it makes the elicit stealing of these products--books and music--fairly incognitio and therefore easy. We may be able to find some of the piracy sites but in no way could we ever find the readers who help them stay active.The people who use piracy sites probably would never shoplift, for fear of being caught.
Good point, Andrea. The anonymity of it is their cloak and takes away the guilt. Funny about the crafts. I did that too. Talk about no hourly wage!
Not just books and music. Images, too, are downloaded with no thought to the owner. We're all probably guilty of that. Maybe the focus on the importance of STEM subjects in school leads kids to grow up thinking art and humanities don't deserve a lot of respect. It might be a cultural thing rather than simply an internet thing.
The internet...manipulation of others from a distance (drones and hacking are two examples), provides a new, dangerous territorial imperative. I say again, human brains have not evolved enough to manage the technology we have invented. Thieves and con artists have always existed, but their scale of operation has ballooned...and they never have to look their victims in the eye. You're right, Brenda, it's dystopian...and depressing.
Everyone has made good points. I guess artists are supposed to be such pure souls they get a thrill out of simply sharing their work with no thoughts of compensation. I agree it’s the anonymity that makes stealing, and it is definitely stealing, so easy and guilt free. Now there’s this new thing called Surveillance Capitalism that tracks your day to day moves and searches then offers products (read sells) based on your individual activities. Darn right scary is you ask me.
I think creative fields are generally valued less from a consumer standpoint. Even journalism is one of the lowest paying professions. People will spend mega bucks to play a round of golf but balk at spending more than $3 for an eBook. Maybe that's why we hear so many people claim they're going to write a book; so many seem to think there's nothing to it. Beyond that, I think the internet has made it easier to devalue creative work, through technology (like Andi was saying) that makes piracy easy, and technology that makes it possible for anyone to publish a book. That in turn created a glut of inventory which devalued (or helped to devalue) the work.
That is so true. As much as I love the internet for many reasons, it has allowed lots of bad behavior to flourish, and piracy is one of those bad behaviors. Great deals on your books, I bought both!
Jannine, you might have something there. Art and music were extra classes or not really part of academic curriculum so the attitude was different.
Very good take on it, Rolynn.
Oh, Margo, that just gives me the creeps.
Leah, there is a glut for sure.
Alicia...thanks so much!
I think Rolynn hit the nail on the head, and now that the genie's out of the bottle, I doubt it will ever be possible to put it back.
Yep, Alison, that genie is too fat to get back in!
Love the 'too fat' vision...the fat cats. And speaking of our peon level, did you read that 85 percent of the stocks are owned by the wealthy few. So we have the moneyed on one hand and internet crims on the the other end of the teeter totter of playground power. We have to laugh...we writers may be grains of playground sand, at the most.
I guess all we can do is keep our sense of humor about it, Rolynn.
I definitely don't have any answers
Music, movies, books are all illegally copied and distributed. Our copyright laws aren't tough enough.
You make an interesting point using a light bulb as an example. Through the 1950s (at least), when your light bulbs burned out, you took them to the Detroit Edison store and they replaced them. Free. Yep, free. Now, look at the cost. BTW, that has nothing to do with piracy. Just a tidbit of trivia.
Thanks for the comment Robin and Diane. Funny little tidbit!
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