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Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel
suddenly i feel old. 
you bring up a good point though ; it's a question of shifting cultural values and attitudes toward sharing everything online. and i think the difference between the attitudes of the pre-p2p generation and the generation that grew up with it is significant. i think the social model is changing, and the role of intellectual property is changing, and distribution models are also changing, because media are changing. it will be very interesting what kind of solutions and new models we come up with now. |
I would place my bets on the gift economy becoming the prevalent means of payment in this 'Brave New World' we're transitioning toward. The slow, monolithic, bottom-liners at the corporations have no way to deal with a world that as it expands outward, also shrinks inward; let me explain what I mean.
As it stands, a top-tier of authors, musicians, artists and the like take up the vast majority of any profit. They are your Stephen King's, your Britney Spears, your Bruce Willis's and the like. Under the new model, in the Brave New World, these people would no longer exist, along with the companies that produce them. So what comes next? Well, each artist now produces his work gratis, with no thought of profit (this also has the side-benefit of thinning out the ones in it for money and fame). Released world-wide and in an instant through the internet, said artist gathers a fanbase, a collection of maybe a few thousand, possibly less, or maybe more. They, the readers, the listeners, the watchers in gratitude for the entertainment they've been given, gift the creator with money or whatever is needed. The artist now has a direct relationship with his/her audience, a symbiosis that means as long as the audience is there and ready to recompense the artist, the work continues to be created.
Set prices will dissapear along with the slow and bloated corporations. Mega-hyper-millionaire artists will become less and less frequent. Countless artists will make a living, never achieving riches, but comfortable in that they can create for an audience that supports them.
This is how I see the future.