The recent New York Times Sunday Magazine story, “ The Creative Apocalypse That Wasn’t ,” uses some broad government labor statistics and anecdotes from a handful of creative artists to make the misleading and specious argument that the Internet has been a boon for creative artists. In arguing that art survives despite technology, the piece blithely ignores the fact that many creative professionals themselves have been devastated by it. Creators within the music community are finding it more difficult than ever to make a living at their craft, and much of that difficulty is directly traced to Internet-based music services that don’t compensate them fairly for use of their work. The digital revolution that began in the ‘90s ushered in an era of devaluation for intellectual property across a range of industries. As the article rightly points out, consumers expect music – and movies, magazines, and news coverage -- to be free or nearly free, and the Internet feeds that expectation. ...
Casual musings from a journalist, fiction writer, and former music industry fringe dweller.