I believe that copyright is dying, due to our national and global culture embracing spaceless and virtual worlds. Whether its for the better or for worse is for time and debate to decide. Many competent people who are aware of the times we live in would advise not to invest in any company that distributes books, music, or movies. It is fairly evident that the digital revolution we are experiencing is the reason why this suggestion is being made.
Here are some of my predictions:
I predict the demise of the entertainment companies' models as they have always existed. I believe that HBO has created 'HBO GO' because they either have been or can see future revenues falling as a result of satellite Internet connections and cable modems. I believe that Daytime TV will probably survive--I'm sure Oprah Winfrey's income is secure. Live broadcasts to millions of women by their adored celebrities will most certainly uphold market share. The same probably goes for soap operas. Sports broadcasts that are live will continue to uphold market share every weekend...and women will be the 'sports widows' that they often are.
I could go on,
but I want to talk briefly about why the end of the 'Copyright Era' (we can call it that I guess) is seemingly imminent. New technologies are now making it very expensive for monopolists who own the legal right to distribute copyrighted ideas and images. This is seen by many as an assault on private property; we've discussed this at length in class. Many more (along with hypocrites) just shrug their shoulders -- hey, they want digital copies of movies and music...ASAP and AEAP (AEAP=As Easily As Possible© :D ). Self-regulation isn't working and the cost of suing over, say 100 million Americans, well its just not economically sound. Regardless, this is the future. Furthermore, when we look at the past we realize that the moral defense of copyright wasn't always popular, "...It was an unpredicted outcome of government policies to restrict the free flow of ideas."
No comments:
Post a Comment