...And neither should you!
The other day, in talking about the current Hollywood writer’s strike, legendary film producer George Lucas said, “We need to see a maturing of the internet, in which it becomes a platform you can make money on. Otherwise, all you’ll ever have available are the same free YouTube clips, and there’s only so long those things, before you have to go out and get a real job.”
To date, the internet has seemed to have tried, with mixed results, to circumvent the corporate entertainment industry to offer a “revolutionary platform” that circumvents the pay-go corporate model that has controlled the industry since its inception. Napster tried and lost in taking on the RIAA and YouTube recently lost a similar war with Viacom.
Sure, no one LIKES to pay for things. In a utopian world, EVERYTHING would be free, there’d be no taxes and no one would have to work. But utopia doesn’t exist and since that dream-like state violates just about every immutable law of economics, chances are, it never will exist on earth. Because of that pesky little fact, NOTHING in life is free – not our time, not our efforts, not any of the commodities needed to produce the goods, services and content we all enjoy and depend on.
“Free content” is generally worth the price of admission.
Sure, it can be a useful promotional tool for unknowns trying to get noticed, but it’s “no way to make a living.” The entertainment industry is indeed an INDUSTRY and as the writer’s strike suggests, writers, producers and all the other people associated with that industry NEED to be able to make money and to make that money, all those who consume that entertainment must be required to pay for the privilege.
That’s what George Lucas meant by “maturing.” If the worldwide web is ever to truly “mature,” it must also become a platform on which producers can engage in that unseemly (at least to utopianists) activity of making money.
Profit is GOOD! Profits via purchasing fees make it possible for artists, sales people, producers, etc., to earn income for their efforts.
The other day, in talking about the current Hollywood writer’s strike, legendary film producer George Lucas said, “We need to see a maturing of the internet, in which it becomes a platform you can make money on. Otherwise, all you’ll ever have available are the same free YouTube clips, and there’s only so long those things, before you have to go out and get a real job.”
To date, the internet has seemed to have tried, with mixed results, to circumvent the corporate entertainment industry to offer a “revolutionary platform” that circumvents the pay-go corporate model that has controlled the industry since its inception. Napster tried and lost in taking on the RIAA and YouTube recently lost a similar war with Viacom.
Sure, no one LIKES to pay for things. In a utopian world, EVERYTHING would be free, there’d be no taxes and no one would have to work. But utopia doesn’t exist and since that dream-like state violates just about every immutable law of economics, chances are, it never will exist on earth. Because of that pesky little fact, NOTHING in life is free – not our time, not our efforts, not any of the commodities needed to produce the goods, services and content we all enjoy and depend on.
“Free content” is generally worth the price of admission.
Sure, it can be a useful promotional tool for unknowns trying to get noticed, but it’s “no way to make a living.” The entertainment industry is indeed an INDUSTRY and as the writer’s strike suggests, writers, producers and all the other people associated with that industry NEED to be able to make money and to make that money, all those who consume that entertainment must be required to pay for the privilege.
That’s what George Lucas meant by “maturing.” If the worldwide web is ever to truly “mature,” it must also become a platform on which producers can engage in that unseemly (at least to utopianists) activity of making money.
Profit is GOOD! Profits via purchasing fees make it possible for artists, sales people, producers, etc., to earn income for their efforts.
2 comments:
shhhh..profit is a dirty word for libs unless theyre making it!..lol
Have a beautiful Thanksgiving my friend..gobble gobble!! :)
And have a GREAT Thanksgiving yourself Angel!
And yes, you're right about profit.
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