Imagine. Art is the substance of human existence. It is the production and reproduction of knowledge. It captures our history, and it inspires our future. Music, movies, books, sculpture, paintings, and things yet undiscovered and uncreated are what drive humanity and capture our collective joy, sorrow, achievement and failure.
Imagine. The Library of Congress has been collecting media and archiving it for over two centuries. It does so "to sustain and preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations." Each year, the LoC selects books, audio recordings and movies and stores them away in its 500-plus miles of bookshelves.
Imagine. The technological capacity now exists to digitize and simplify the storage of this information, and to make it widely available to the public in an accessible electronic format. When Andrew Carnegie proposed constructing a public library system in which people could readily access books free of charge, the publishing industry rioted. They complained that sales would plummet and they would no longer have an audience. The publishing industry continued to grow, and America's public libraries are now considered a valuable public institution.
Imagine. Research has shown that if you treat people like criminals, they will take on criminal behaviour, but if you treat them with respect, they will behave likewise. An online accountability system has existed for quite some time, offering full-version "shareware" for users and asking them to contribute or donate money to the author if they find the software worthwhile. Sure, there are some freeloaders, but overall the system has worked.
Imagine. With the advent of Digital Rights Management (DRM), recording companies have spent most of their energy trying to keep legitimate customers from listening to their own music however they see fit. In response, these legitimate customers have said "no," and responded by systematically breaking these DRM codes as quickly as they are developed.
Imagine. It is important to remember that when people share their media, they are not charging money for it. If they were profiting from it, of course it would be criminal. How often have we all loaned that really good book to a friend? Or given them a song from that band you really liked? Sure, they could have bought a copy of the book themselves, but that would just cost the world another tree. Sure, they could have bought the disgustingly over-priced CD only to find out that their friend has shitty taste and they hate Eminem, but that would have just been more money in the pockets of already-rich record company executives.
Imagine. There is a huge body of struggling, yet extremely talented artists out there that are too busy actually making good music and can't manage to get the attention of these record labels who are only in the business of creating and packaging an "image." Have you ever heard of Atticus Scout? They're good, but nobody probably ever will. I heard about their music on Kazaa, and have subsequently bought both of their self-released albums.
Imagine. I wish I could continue the time-honoured tradition of making mixed CDs for the people I love without fear of a heavy-handed reprimand from Big Brother RIAA. I wish I could digitise my music collection and take it with me wherever I go, but some of my CDs are locked and copy protected. I wish a song could be used in a fundraising video for homeless kids without paying a $5000 licensing fee, but it can't.
Imagine. Right now, art is capitalism. We are told what to listen to, what to watch. We are handed "the best art around" for the bargain price of $15.99 per hour. These artists show us how to dress, what to drive, where to eat. Is it even possible to detach the art from the capitalism, as it should have been from the beginning? Some artists, those which could be called "genuine," practice their craft because they truly love it. Artists of yore were poor and suffering until the day they died. Fame came years later, yet they persevered during their lifetimes creating the masterpieces of our civilisations. But why?
Imagine. It is possible that we begin appreciating art for art's sake. Britney Spears, Snoop Dogg. That isn't art, that's entertainment. Let's keep our superstars around, they give us something to look at during the long summer months. But let's start to appreciate true art for what it is, and make it available for the world to see and hear. If these artists truly "love their fans and their music," than they should have no problem making it available, even to those who can't afford it. The past few years have shown they'll still be paid handsomely (record sales have not dropped but increased rapidly since the advent of filesharing). I'm only suggesting we broaden the playing field for some of those artists who haven't yet gotten our attention.
Imagine. One day, the digital music collections of some of these "criminals" will be considered an asset. This stuff is the substance of human experience and creativity, and the true crime is not to share it. Imagine a publicly accessible compendium of every document, song, recording, television show, movie, website that has ever been produced by humanity that is accessible to anyone in the world. People are saving this stuff, just waiting to make it available. We could all contribute to the global wiki. Imagine utopia.
Flown by mariposa at 09:47 AM on June 20, 2005
