The Chicago Tribune talks to Prof Larry Lessig and Wilco manager Ken Waagner about what digital networks can do for artists, copyright, and creativity. When was the last time Big Content put forth such an optimistic vision of the potential for digital distribution?
But isn't the central issue compensation -- shouldn't the Beatles make money from their compositions, shouldn't Wilco make money from their records? Lessig: Well, I'm a strong believer in copyright. And in my view, what copyright is is the right of the author to control what happens to his or her work. In my view, that means if Gilberto Gil says, "I want my work to be available for other people to build on top of even without paying me," he should be allowed to do that. There shouldn't be a record company that says to him, "No, we're not going to let you do that." I wouldn't favor forcing artists to turn over their work, but I would favor allowing artists to be much more creative about the ways they distribute their work. But how are bands supposed to get paid when content is given away? Waagner: I've always looked at the Internet as a free broadcast license and a free printing press, and whatever you do with it is just empowering. From having run an independent label and spent 20 years trying to help bands get heard, get written about and get distributed, to all of the sudden have this opportunity to just do it was so empowering.As Tim O'Reilly likes to say, obscurity is a far bigger threat to an artist than piracy. In that sense, the net would be a rising tide to lift all boats, but you can see how that (potentially) imperils the near-stranglehold of Big Content on your entertainment dollar.
