The Piracy Crusade

Typo – third line down should say “even though” not “event though”

The last sentence has a typo “firsttwo albums”.

Hi Samantha, Thanks for the encouragement. The rest of the book is actually posted (the interface is just hard to navigate). Above the MediaCommons logo at the top of the page is the name of the section, with right and left arrows. Click on the right arrow, and you’ll be taken to the next section!

I think this argument speaks exaclty to a curcial misunderstanding which is at the heart of the way we think about digital distribution of culture and piracy. I think you correctly argue that piracy today is really nothing but an extnsion of previous cultural consumption practices. However, for some reason, little attention is given to the historical framework of “piracy” into whch the culture business has found itself, especially on accont of digital technology. I am very interested in this subject matter and wish that I could read more of the work so that I could provide better and more in-depth comments. However, the work here is excellent and I eagerly anticipate the opportunity to read the rest!

If you haven’t already seen it, there’s an interesting development brewing with Palmer. She’s been crowdsourcing local backing musicians while on tour, but not paying them. Though I can see how playing with Palmer could be quite a rush for some, and “worth” doing for free, there are some saying she wants to have her cake and eat it, too.http://thetrichordist.wordpress.com/2012/09/16/occupy-amanda-palmer/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

This is possible and a cool idea, but there are some rumors that this was an April Fool’s Joke because some TPB folks partake in “excessive alcohol and cannabis consumption,” as has been quoted. http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112499638/internet-abuzz-over-pirate-bay-post-a-review-of-the-reactions/

This would be a good section for the Sony key2audio debacle where the felt-tipped pen was mightier than the copy restriction. I remember when I heard about this on NPR, or somewhere to the like, thinking that this was like throwing good money after bad. Slate’s a source for the basic on this: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2002/06/can_you_violate_copyright_law_with_a_magic_marker.html

Certainly not arbitrary. As I hope the rest of the chapter (and book) bears out, market developments are the results of many factors, including the competing interests of the principal actors, as well as the regulatory, technological, and economic environments, all of which are interrelated.

It’s a great subject, but this isn’t the place for it. I spend a bit more time on it in the first chapter or two of Mashed Up.

Fair enough. I’ve erased the party affiliation from my draft.