Making Money: Copyright Edition
Last reading response
Meron Derseh
INTS 249
Lindsey MacDonald
5/7/2019
Making Money: Copyright Edition
Copyright is one of the most touchy subjects of the digital era. There are people on both sides of the conflict of copyright regulation. The questions being asked are always the same, when are copyright regulations going too far? And do we need stricter or more loose copyright regulations. Cory Doctorow talks about the importance of understanding the internet in his book “Information doesn’t want to be free”. He talks about the importance of understanding and knowing the internet well when it comes to digital locks, copyright regulations, and becoming a successful artist.
He starts of the book talking about digital locks which is not exactly copyright but gives digital lock holder all the power when it comes to distribution or usage of certain content and products. Digital locks have created a certain level of monopoly in certain industries and because there are ways to get around certain digital locks there are more copyright regulations being created which work to inconvenience the creators and the audience. In monopoly created by digital locks, for certain products a person has to use a compatible device or service “Because anti-circumvention rules mean that only a digital locks maker can authorize you to open it, on-the-fly conversions to improve compatibility often aren’t allowed” (6). So in this case the copyright laws are used to help and protect the digital lock holders and not the creators.
Doctorow talks about the importance of understanding how to use the internet to gain fame and followers and become more successful. When it comes to artists under big companies the entertainment companies tend to be the holders of the copyright of a piece of work that an artist puts out. So unless the artist, such as a musician, has bought back their masters from the company, copyright laws does not really mean a lot in terms of making money, because the money made through copyright is going to end up in the company’s hands and not the artist. If an artist has a clear understanding of the internet and how to use it they can help themselves become famous and get their name out there so that they can make more money and have more people care about what they are doing (53–55). An artist can basically become their own company online and promote themselves to more people. As Doctorow said “industrial regulations should apply to industries, not individuals, families, and private groups” (98). Because the fans and artist could be negatively impacted by the regulations. So once they have fans their fans will then help promote them even more by sharing the artists works through the internet which will help the artist gain recognition (even if it is shared illegally).
Digital locks and copyright laws are used to make money and monopolize industries. At the end of the day any fan work created is a form of free promotion and should not be heavily regulated. Works of art should not become inaccessible to an audience because an entertainment company wants to make a lot of money while the artist gets to no see a lot of that money. Copyright laws can be used to protect the freedom of artists but that is not always the case.
