Peer to Peer and the Music Industry: the Criminalization of Sharing

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Peer to Peer and the Music Industry: the Criminalization of Sharing Matthew David TC TC Peer to Peer and the Music Industry S S Have the music and movie industries lost the battle to Industry Music the and Peer to Peer criminalize downloading? Theory, Culture & Society Theory, This penetrating and informative book provides readers with a systematic guide to the file-sharing phenomenon. Critically combining inter-disciplinary resources Matthew David unpacks the economics, psychology and philosophy of file-sharing. The book carefully situates the reader in a field of relevant approaches including network society theory, post-structuralism and ethnographic research. It uses this to launch a fascinating enquiry into: • the rise of file-sharing, • the challenge to intellectual property law posed by new technologies, • the social psychology of cyber crime and • the response of the mass media and multi-national corporations. This is a landmark work in the sociology of popular culture and cultural criminology, it concludes with a balanced, eye-opening assessment of alternative cultural modes of participation and their relationship to cultural capitalism. It fuses a deep knowledge of the music industry and the new technologies of mass communication with a powerful perspective on how multinational corporations seek to monopolize markets, how international and state agencies defend property, while a global multitude undermine and/or reinvent both. It will be of interest to students of sociology, criminology, media and communications and cultural studies. ‘Matthew David has done a rare and valuable thing with this work. He has comprehensively exposed the inherent radicalism of peer-to-peer communication and exposed the absurdities of the various efforts to quash the practice and technologies. This book is certain to outlast the recording industry.’ Siva Vaidhyanathan, Media Studies, University of Virginia ‘This book is far-reaching in its implications for our understanding of modern society and culture and should be read by anyone with an interest in the future of music... the analysis is scholarly and rigorous yet the book is accessibly written and contains moments of real humour.’ Graeme Kirkpatrick, Sociology, University of Manchester ‘Too often the music industry is seen as merely being about entertainment. In this closely and Peer to Peer and clearly argued book Matthew David explains in detail why anyone interested in the future of our global information society must understand the questions raised by this industry’s relationship with its customer base… he offers a clear and informative analysis of these developments that the Music Industry will be of interest to social scientists, lawyers and music lovers alike.’ David Christopher May, Political Economy, Lancaster University The Criminalization of Sharing Matthew David is a lecturer in the Sociology of Culture at Brunel University. ISBN: 978-1-84787-005-6 Cover image © Nick Brown 9 781847 870056 david_peer_aw.indd 1 12/11/09 17:32:07 David-3921-Prelims:Pieterse Prelims.qxp 25/09/2009 5:22 PM Page i Peer to Peer and the Music Industry This SAGE ebook is copyright and is supplied by NetLibrary. Unauthorised distribution forbidden. David-3921-Prelims:Pieterse Prelims.qxp 25/09/2009 5:22 PM Page ii Theory, Culture & Society Theory, Culture & Society caters for the resurgence of interest in culture within con- temporary social science and the humanities. Building on the heritage of classical social theory, the book series examines ways in which this tradition has been reshaped by a new generation of theorists. It also publishes theoretically informed analyses of everyday life, popular culture, and new intellectual movements. EDITOR: Mike Featherstone, Nottingham Trent University SERIES EDITORIAL BOARD Roy Boyne, University of Durham Nicholas Gane, University of York Scott Lash, Goldsmiths College, University of London Roland Robertson, University of Aberdeen Couze Venn, Nottingham Trent University THE TCS CENTRE The Theory, Culture & Society book series, the journals Theory, Culture & Society and Body & Society, and related conference, seminar and postgraduate programmes operate from the TCS Centre at Nottingham Trent University. For further details of the TCS Centre's activities please contact: The TCS Centre, Room 175 Faculty of Humanities Nottingham Trent University Clifton Lane, Nottingham, NG11 8NS, UK e-mail: [email protected] web: http://sagepub.net/tcs/ Recent volumes include: Ordinary People and the Media The Demotic Turn Graeme Turner The Sociology of Intellectual Life The Career of the Mind in and around the Academy Steve Fuller Globalization & Football Richard Guilianotti and Roland Robertson The Saturated Society Governing Risk and Lifestyles in Consumer Culture Pekka Sulkunen This SAGE ebook is copyright and is supplied by NetLibrary. Unauthorised distribution forbidden. David-3921-Prelims:Pieterse Prelims.qxp 25/09/2009 5:22 PM Page iii Peer to Peer and the Music Industry The Criminalization of Sharing Matthew David This SAGE ebook is copyright and is supplied by NetLibrary. Unauthorised distribution forbidden. David-3921-Prelims:Pieterse Prelims.qxp 25/09/2009 5:22 PM Page iv © Matthew David 2010 First published 2010 Published in association with Theory, Culture & Society, Nottingham Trent University Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form, or by any means, only with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers. SAGE Publications Ltd 1 Oliver’s Yard 55 City Road London EC1Y 1SP SAGE Publications Inc. 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320 SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd B 1/I 1 Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area Mathura Road, Post Bag 7 New Delhi 110 044 SAGE Publications Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd 33 Pekin Street #02–01 Far East Square Singapore 048763 Library of Congress Control Number: 2009925264 British Library Cataloguing in Publication data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978-1-84787-005-6 Typeset by C&M Digitals (P) Ltd, Chennai, India Printed by MPG Books Group, Bodmin, Cornwall Printed on paper from sustainable resources This SAGE ebook is copyright and is supplied by NetLibrary. Unauthorised distribution forbidden. David-3921-Prelims:Pieterse Prelims.qxp 25/09/2009 5:22 PM Page v For Mike Presdee (1944-2009). A great teacher, friend and sharer. This SAGE ebook is copyright and is supplied by NetLibrary. Unauthorised distribution forbidden. David-3921-Prelims:Pieterse Prelims.qxp 25/09/2009 5:22 PM Page vi Matthew David has done a rare and valuable thing with this work. He has comprehensively exposed the inherent radicalism of peer-to-peer com- munication and exposed the absurdities of the various efforts to quash the practice and technologies.This book is certain to outlast the recording industry. Siva Vaidhyanathan, Professor of Media Studies, University of Virginia This book is far-reaching in its implications for our understanding of modern society and culture and should be read by anyone with an interest in the future of music. David’s discussion of the music industry’s response to digitisation and the culture of downloading and file-sharing dispels the myths about pirates stealing our musical heritage. It puts the spotlight firmly on an industry that has exploited artists and audiences alike for years but which now finds itself imperilled by a mixture of technological change and the creative practices of (mainly) young people. The analysis is scholarly and rigorous yet the book is accessibly written and contains moments of real humour. Graeme Kirkpatrick, Senior Lecturer, Sociology, University of Manchester Too often the music industry is seen as merely being about entertainment. In this closely and clearly argued book Matthew David explains in detail why anyone interested in the future of our global information society must understand the questions raised by this industry's relationship with its customer base. Clearly establishing the importance of understanding the production and distribution of music for the wider realms of the globalising information economy, Matthew David develops an analysis of much wider relevance. The challenge of openness that confronts the major record companies is repeated across the information economy, and the struggle for control of the distribution of content will be the economic issue of the new millennium; Matthew David offers a clear and informative analysis of these developments that will be of interest to social scientists, lawyers and music lovers alike. Christopher May, Professor of Political Economy, Lancaster University This SAGE ebook is copyright and is supplied by NetLibrary. Unauthorised distribution forbidden. David-3921-Prelims:Pieterse Prelims.qxp 25/09/2009 5:22 PM Page vii Contents List of Figures and Tables xi Key Acronyms and Abbreviations xii 1 Introduction 1 Much too much? 1 The file-sharing phenomenon 2 The structure of this book 3 The claim being made 9 2 The Global Network Society: Territorialisation and Deterritorialisation 10 Introduction 10 The relative autonomy of the informational mode of development? 11 Critical theoretical challenges 12 Feminist critiques 16 Informationalism and ‘capitalist perestroika’?
Recommended publications
  • UC Santa Barbara UC Santa Barbara Electronic Theses and Dissertations
    UC Santa Barbara UC Santa Barbara Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title A Web of Extended Metaphors in the Guerilla Open Access Manifesto of Aaron Swartz Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6w76f8x7 Author Swift, Kathy Publication Date 2017 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Santa Barbara A Web of Extended Metaphors in the Guerilla Open Access Manifesto of Aaron Swartz A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Education by Kathleen Anne Swift Committee in charge: Professor Richard Duran, Chair Professor Diana Arya Professor William Robinson September 2017 The dissertation of Kathleen Anne Swift is approved. ................................................................................................................................ Diana Arya ................................................................................................................................ William Robinson ................................................................................................................................ Richard Duran, Committee Chair June 2017 A Web of Extended Metaphors in the Guerilla Open Access Manifesto of Aaron Swartz Copyright © 2017 by Kathleen Anne Swift iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the members of my committee for their advice and patience as I worked on gathering and analyzing the copious amounts of research necessary to
    [Show full text]
  • IP4D – Sustainable Production of and Fair Trade in Creative Expressions
    IP4D – Sustainable Production of and Fair Trade in Creative Expressions Dr. Volker Grassmuck, Ph.D. contribution to the Research Workshop on Free Culture Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University Cambridge, MA, 23 October 2009 The point is not giving more to the poor but stealing less from them. (Jean Ziegler) The digital revolution provides great opportunities for free culture, i.e. cultural expressions that are free to circulate and build on. In this brief text I want to highlight three points: the overall idea of a Social Contract as well as the Culture Flat-Rate and a system of Fair Trade in creative expressions as two of its components. The guiding question is: How can a global Social Contract between creatives and society be established that ensures the freedom of culture and the sustenance of those who create it? A new Social Contract Under conditions of the digital age a new Social Contract between creatives and audiences (Grassmuck, 2008b, 2009) has to be negotiated, a new arrangement for the reciprocal „creative contributions“ by authors and by society (Aigrain 2008). The current debate on culture is focussed on property rights and their enforcement. The Social Contract is intended to refocus the debate on the issues behind the existing legal rules. The shift from the analogue to the digital knowledge order calls into question the boundaries between private and public, professional and non-professional, commercial and non-commercial. These are fundamental issues that should not be decided by case law but discussed in a broad inclusive debate by all of society based on empiric data and research.
    [Show full text]
  • Excesss Karaoke Master by Artist
    XS Master by ARTIST Artist Song Title Artist Song Title (hed) Planet Earth Bartender TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIM ? & The Mysterians 96 Tears E 10 Years Beautiful UGH! Wasteland 1999 Man United Squad Lift It High (All About 10,000 Maniacs Candy Everybody Wants Belief) More Than This 2 Chainz Bigger Than You (feat. Drake & Quavo) [clean] Trouble Me I'm Different 100 Proof Aged In Soul Somebody's Been Sleeping I'm Different (explicit) 10cc Donna 2 Chainz & Chris Brown Countdown Dreadlock Holiday 2 Chainz & Kendrick Fuckin' Problems I'm Mandy Fly Me Lamar I'm Not In Love 2 Chainz & Pharrell Feds Watching (explicit) Rubber Bullets 2 Chainz feat Drake No Lie (explicit) Things We Do For Love, 2 Chainz feat Kanye West Birthday Song (explicit) The 2 Evisa Oh La La La Wall Street Shuffle 2 Live Crew Do Wah Diddy Diddy 112 Dance With Me Me So Horny It's Over Now We Want Some Pussy Peaches & Cream 2 Pac California Love U Already Know Changes 112 feat Mase Puff Daddy Only You & Notorious B.I.G. Dear Mama 12 Gauge Dunkie Butt I Get Around 12 Stones We Are One Thugz Mansion 1910 Fruitgum Co. Simon Says Until The End Of Time 1975, The Chocolate 2 Pistols & Ray J You Know Me City, The 2 Pistols & T-Pain & Tay She Got It Dizm Girls (clean) 2 Unlimited No Limits If You're Too Shy (Let Me Know) 20 Fingers Short Dick Man If You're Too Shy (Let Me 21 Savage & Offset &Metro Ghostface Killers Know) Boomin & Travis Scott It's Not Living (If It's Not 21st Century Girls 21st Century Girls With You 2am Club Too Fucked Up To Call It's Not Living (If It's Not 2AM Club Not
    [Show full text]
  • The United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement and the Copyright Term Extension
    A SUBMISSION TO THE SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND THE UNITED STATES THE UNITED STATES-AUSTRALIA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT AND THE COPYRIGHT TERM EXTENSION DR MATTHEW RIMMER LECTURER FACULTY OF LAW THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY Faculty Of Law, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200 Work Telephone Number: (02) 61254164 E-Mail Address: [email protected] TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface 3 Executive Summary 4 Part 1 An Act For The Encouragement of Learning 8 Part 2 Free Mickey: The Copyright Term and The Public Domain 12 Part 3 A Gift To IP Producers: The Copyright Term and Competition Policy 27 Part 4 Emerging Standards: The Copyright Term and International Trade 36 Part 5 Robbery Under Arms: The Copyright Term And Cultural Heritage 43 Conclusion 58 Appendix 1: Comparison Of Copyright Duration: United States, European Union, and Australia 62 2 "There is a whole constituency out there with a strong view against copyright term extension and we are arguing that case." Mark Vaile, Minister for Trade (December 2003) "Extending our copyright term by 20 years doesn’t really protect our authors, yet it still taxes our readers." Professor Andrew Christie, Director, Intellectual Property Research Institute of Australia, the University of Melbourne "Perpetual Copyright On An Instalment Plan" Professor Peter Jaszi, Washington University "A Piracy Of The Public Domain" Professor Lawrence Lessig, Stanford University "A Gift To Intellectual Property Producers" Henry Ergas "Intellectual Purgatory" Justice Stephen Breyer, Supreme Court of the United States "A No-Brainer" Milton Friedman, Nobel Laureate in Economics "Actually, Sonny [Bono] wanted the term of copyright protection to last forever." Mary Bono 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY • The first modern copyright legislation - the Statute of Anne - was an "Act for the encouragement of learning".
    [Show full text]
  • Martin Amis Appointed Professor of Creative Writing Features Letter from the President News
    The free magazine for The University of Manchester 5 March 2007 Uni LifIessue 7 Volume 4 Martin Amis appointed Professor of Creative Writing Features Letter from the President News News Manchester’s students Martin Amis appointed most wanted page 3 Martin Amis, arguably the leading novelist of his generation, has been appointed Professor of Creative Writing at The University of Manchester. He will be in position in time for the launch of the Centre for New Writing, due to open in September. Amis will run postgraduate seminars at at Manchester has long been one of the best in the the Centre and will also participate in country, but the foundation of the Centre and the appointments of Martin Amis and Patricia Duncker Research four public events each year, including mean that we will continue to attract – and provide Village found near a two week summer school where a terrific apprenticeship for – talented new Stonehenge writers will teach MA students from the novelists, poets and critics. Martin and Patricia are UK and abroad. both writers who are interested in the broad swim page 7 of contemporary culture, so the Centre will be a He will be based in the School of Arts Histories and prominent platform for the best new creative and Cultures, also home to the leading literary theorist critical writing being produced in the UK.” When the new University of Manchester was We now face the major, unavoidable challenge of and critic, Professor Terry Eagleton. founded in October 2004, it was on the firm addressing these two deficits – one structural,
    [Show full text]
  • ELDRED V. ASHCROFT: the CONSTITUTIONALITY of the COPYRIGHT TERM EXTENSION ACT by Michaeljones
    COPYRIGHT ELDRED V. ASHCROFT: THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE COPYRIGHT TERM EXTENSION ACT By MichaelJones On January 15, 2003, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Copyright Term Extension Act ("CTEA"), which extended the term of copyright protection by twenty years.2 The decision has been ap- plauded by copyright protectionists who regard the extension as an effec- tive incentive to creators. In their view, it is a perfectly rational piece of legislation that reflects Congress's judgment as to the proper copyright term, balances the interests of copyright holders and users, and brings the3 United States into line with the European Union's copyright regime. However, the CTEA has been deplored by champions of a robust public domain, who see the extension as a giveaway to powerful conglomerates, which runs contrary to the public interest.4 Such activists see the CTEA as, in the words of Justice Stevens, a "gratuitous transfer of wealth" that will impoverish the public domain. 5 Consequently, Eldred, for those in agree- ment with Justice Stevens, is nothing less than the "Dred Scott case for 6 culture." The Court in Eldred rejected the petitioners' claims that (1) the CTEA did not pass constitutional muster under the Copyright Clause's "limited © 2004 Berkeley Technology Law Journal & Berkeley Center for Law and Technology. 1. Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, 17 U.S.C. §§ 108, 203, 301-304 (2002). The Act's four provisions consider term extensions, transfer rights, a new in- fringement exception, and the division of fees, respectively; this Note deals only with the first provision, that of term extensions.
    [Show full text]
  • Album Review: Enter Shikari – the Mindsweep | Nouse
    Nouse Web Archives Album Review: Enter Shikari – The Mindsweep Page 1 of 3 News Comment MUSE. Politics Business Science Sport Roses Freshers Muse › Music › News Features Reviews Playlists Album Review: Enter Shikari – The Mindsweep Ellie Langford takes the hardcore rock group’s latest record for a spin By Eleanor Langford, Music Editor (2016/17) Tuesday 3 March 2015 Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Enter Shikari are well known for their outspoken politics and brazen verbosity – neatly slotted in-between pleasingly uncomfortable drops and a medley of post-hardcore-electronic mania. Their latest release The Mindsweep does not disappoint in this department. It is no surprise that the Hertforshire quartet show innovation and talent in every track, their raw individuality the mark that separates them from the crowd. The album starts with the clear intent to incite a revolution with the rousing opening “This is an appeal”. The track, ‘The Appeal & The Mindsweep I’, cleverly combines inspiring spoken word and angry hardcore drops whilst setting up the expected political theme of the album. “This pseudo-intellectual rap expresses strong concern about the rate and implications of human discovery, but without the album’s early angry punch ” The following three tracks follow in a provocative mix and begin to delve into the woes of the world, but not too clearly. ‘The One True Colour’, with its uncomfortable cyclical sound, moves past innovative and creative to plain confusing. The third and most played track of the album ‘The Anaesthetist’ is notable in http://nouse.co.uk/2015/03/03/album-review-enter-shikari-the-mindsweep Archived 11 Dec 2018 09:21:53 Nouse Web Archives Album Review: Enter Shikari – The Mindsweep Page 2 of 3 its cause.
    [Show full text]
  • Культура І Мистецтво Великої Британії Culture and Art of Great Britain
    НАЦІОНАЛЬНА АКАДЕМІЯ ПЕДАГОГІЧНИХ НАУК УКРАЇНИ ІНСТИТУТ ПЕДАГОГІКИ Т.К. Полонська КУЛЬТУРА І МИСТЕЦТВО ВЕЛИКОЇ БРИТАНІЇ CULTURE AND ART OF GREAT BRITAIN Навчальний посібник елективного курсу з англійської мови для учнів старших класів профільної школи Київ Видавничий дім «Сам» 2017 УДК 811.111+930.85(410)](076.6) П 19 Рекомендовано до друку вченою радою Інституту педагогіки НАПН України (протокол №11 від 08.12.2016 року) Схвалено для використання у загальноосвітніх навчальних закладах (лист ДНУ «Інститут модернізації змісту освіти». №21.1/12 -Г-233 від 15.06.2017 року) Рецензенти: Олена Ігорівна Локшина – доктор педагогічних наук, професор, завідувачка відділу порівняльної педагогіки Інституту педагогіки НАПН України; Світлана Володимирівна Соколовська – кандидат педагогічних наук, доцент, заступник декана з науково- методичної та навчальної роботи факультету права і міжнародних відносин Київського університету імені Бориса Грінченка; Галина Василівна Степанчук – учителька англійської мови Навчально-виховного комплексу «Нововолинська спеціалізована школа І–ІІІ ступенів №1 – колегіум» Нововолинської міської ради Волинської області. Культура і мистецтво Великої Британії : навчальний посібник елективного курсу з англійської мови для учнів старших класів профільної школи / Т. К. Полонська. – К. : Видавничий дім «Сам», 2017. – 96 с. ISBN Навчальний посібник є основним засобом оволодіння учнями старшої школи змістом англомовного елективного курсу «Культура і мистецтво Великої Британії». Створення посібника сприятиме подальшому розвиткові у
    [Show full text]
  • January 17, 2012
    2 I 'mlr Q1)rrrnt I JANUARY 17, 2012 I WWW.THECURRENT-ONlINE.COM I I NEWS 1thc<iuITrnt VOL. 45, ISSU 1364 WWW.THECURRENT-ON E.COM Yesteryear's tornadoes still leaving marks in EDITORIAL Editor-in-C hief... ..... ... ,...... ..... .... .. ... .... .. ............. .Matth ew 8. Poposky Managing Editor. ,............ :........................ .... : ... .... ...... Jeremy Zschau St. Louis; pdates on damages and recoveries Ne':';s Editor........... .. ... ... ............................ ... .. .. ....... ... Hali Flin rop Features Editor ......... .. .. ........ .. ........ .... ...... .... ,.. ... ..... .... Ashiey Atkins Sports Editor. .... .. ............... ......... .. ......................... .O wen Shroyer A&E Editor.. ... .... .... ........... ..... ....... ..................... ....... ... Cate Marquis 'Tornadoes of New Years Eve and Good Friday 2011 Opinions Editor ...... ,.. ,.. .. ,., ... ,. .................... .......... Aladeen Klonowski Copy Editors...................... Sa ra Novak, Ca ryn Rog ers, Casey agers still marking communities, birth rebuilding projects Staff Writers .. ,. ...... ,. ............. ......... ,... ........... ... ,.... ... ... .. David VO Il Nordheim, Yu sef Roach, Eli Dains, Da ll Spak, Joseph Gra e, Dian ne Ridgeway, Janaca S<:herer, Sh aron Pru itt, Le on Oevance, Sa ad Shari eff CAT E MARQUIS D ESIGN A&E Editor Design Editor... ........... .. ... ,.. ,..... ,. ..... ,....... .................. .Jan aca Sche rer Photo Editor,..... ,,', ... ................ .. ........... .. ,..... ,.. .. ... ......
    [Show full text]
  • Remix My Lit M T: Creative Commons & Text
    remix my lit M T: Creative Commons & Text In defining ‘web 2.0,’ Tim O’Reilly espouses the remixing of multiple sources of information, text case studies including the personal, to create rich user experiences (http://radar.oreilly.com/ archives/2005/10/web-20-compact-definition. Aduki Press: Stick This In Your html). Memory Hole 141 Nowhere is user participation in the creation of The Age Blogs 144 meaning more lauded than in the blogosphere. Bloggers are recognised to be among the ANAT Filter 145 first groups truly to embrace the CC scheme, On Line Opinion 148 and remain some of its strongest proponents. As exemplars in this field, Human Resources A New Leaf Media: The Pundit 150 consultant Michael Specht and Malaysian free John Quiggin 152 culture advocate Aizat Faiz build their writings around the desire to foster open source and free Michael Specht 155 content. This advocacy is driven by the desire to cultivate new voices and alternative viewpoints, Mike Seyfang 156 challenging the enduring corporate dominance of Remix My Lit 159 mainstream media, as aided by CC. As blogger Robin Good puts it: Strange Symphonies blog 161 ‘Web 2.0 is turbo-charging our capacity to re-establish this vibrant, participatory, people- Nevertheless, as shown in these case studies, driven, creative culture. But we the use of CC licensing on blogs is not always nevertheless face greater threats uncontroversial. Prominent Australian economist than ever to our cultural liberties, John Quiggin sparked a debate on the value of as corporations in league with CC licences to blogging, when he introduced the legislators dream up new ways licensing on his eponymous blog johnquiggin.
    [Show full text]
  • The Digital Republic
    The Digital Republic From Barcelona, David Bollier outlines the struggle to secure and expand the commons By David Bollier Photo by isma.mov – moosaic.com via flickr.com under a Creative Commons license (attribution and non-commercial) These remarks were given by David Bollier at the Free Culture Forum [www.fcforum.net] in Barcelona, Spain, on October 30. This conference takes place at a time of great promise and great peril. Great promise, because we have the opportunity to secure what I call the Digital Republic. And great peril, because the 20th Century content industries show few signs of recognizing the legitimacy and value of the digital commons and its principles of openness, participation and decentralized control. So I thank the organizers of the Free Culture Forum for bringing us together to discuss the future of our Digital Republic. You may be wondering: What is this Digital Republic? It is the federation of self-organized commons that constitute free culture. It is the new vision of democratic practice that we have been creating for a generation. And who is this “we”? We are the hackers and programmers who have built and maintained GNU Linux, Apache, PERL, blogging software, wikis, social networking and wifi. We are the musicians and filmmakers who create works that speak to our time —serious, funny, eccentric — and move beyond the hyped, formulaic, lowest-common-denominator “product” that Hollywood and the big record labels keep churning out. We are artists who are fed up with corporate middlemen taking most of the money that our creativity earns. And so we are creating our own online platforms and own audiences — audiences whom we respect, and who respect us.
    [Show full text]
  • The Consequences of Framing Free Culture As a Social Movement Alek Tarkowski Creative Commons Poland / University of Warsaw
    The consequences of framing free culture as a social movement Alek Tarkowski Creative Commons Poland / University of Warsaw The phenomenon of free culture has not yet been properly defined in sociological terms, and the majority of research on free culture seems to be based in legal, media or information studies. From the viewpoint of sociology, free culture is an association, of some sort, of human and institutional actors, together with associated social and cultural practices. For lack of a better one, I will use here the term free cultural activism to describe my object of interest. I believe that this association should be more precisely defined as a social movement. This proposition is obvious and often stated by activists and practitioners, but to my knowledge has not been investigated by researchers of free culture. The phenomenon of free cultural activism has all the elements expected of a modern, global and networked, social movement (della Porta, Kriesi and Rucht 1999). It fits the description of a New Social Movement, in which a heterogeneous range of actors are tied together by a common identity, shared meanings or collective imaginary (Appadurai 1996). As is typical of such movements, the movement struggles in the name of broad cultural change rather than material stakes – fitting into the current shift towards postmateriality [Inglehart]. If we agree with Alain Tourraine that a social movement's struggle has as its goal the change of historicity, or society's „great cultural orientations” (Tourraine 1981) – then free cultural activism, focused upon key regulatory mechanisms and models of production in knowledge-based societies, should be seen as one of key social movements of today.
    [Show full text]