Also Baen doesn't have the one feature of a truly copyright free society.
The ability for me to make a copy of your work and sell it without your premission. Books are still a physical thing, one that an be sold and distributed as a
physical thing and most book-readers like to have books (I know I do). However music CDs, well I buy them and they go directly onto my iPod and then I never
look at the CD again. However if I was able to buy say, the latest Claymore manga at oen store for $10.00 and at a second store for $5.00...
If you think people are going to be, on the whole, nice and spend money to support artists directly I direct you to Wal-Mart. Now, imagine what will happen to
Wal-Mart once they realise that they don't have to pay artists or distributers one red centin liscensing fees to put the latest popular
music on their shelves. Can you really imagine the vast majority of the purchasing public caring one way or another who gets the money for
their music purchases? If so, well, you have a far better opinion of humanity than I do.
The problem with all these file-sharing studies is that they are based on a bad premise. It may be true that free access to music may increase overall
spending, but that does not gaurentee that anyone will spend that money by giving it to the artist directly. If you want to study what actual lack of copyright
produces look at music which is being actively and massively pirated, for cash money. The look at how well the original artist does when someone can constantly
and consistently undercut his price.
The one place this is happening is Taiwan.
----------------------
Epsilon
The ability for me to make a copy of your work and sell it without your premission. Books are still a physical thing, one that an be sold and distributed as a
physical thing and most book-readers like to have books (I know I do). However music CDs, well I buy them and they go directly onto my iPod and then I never
look at the CD again. However if I was able to buy say, the latest Claymore manga at oen store for $10.00 and at a second store for $5.00...
If you think people are going to be, on the whole, nice and spend money to support artists directly I direct you to Wal-Mart. Now, imagine what will happen to
Wal-Mart once they realise that they don't have to pay artists or distributers one red centin liscensing fees to put the latest popular
music on their shelves. Can you really imagine the vast majority of the purchasing public caring one way or another who gets the money for
their music purchases? If so, well, you have a far better opinion of humanity than I do.
The problem with all these file-sharing studies is that they are based on a bad premise. It may be true that free access to music may increase overall
spending, but that does not gaurentee that anyone will spend that money by giving it to the artist directly. If you want to study what actual lack of copyright
produces look at music which is being actively and massively pirated, for cash money. The look at how well the original artist does when someone can constantly
and consistently undercut his price.
The one place this is happening is Taiwan.
----------------------
Epsilon