A nicely researched, long article on Creative Commons and the gift economy from Business 2.0. Ton's of great examples and righteous quotes:

The sharing economy is already worth billions of dollars, but its direct beneficiaries aren't mainstream entertainment companies. Instead, they're the likes of Apple (AAPL), Adobe (ADBE), and EarthLink (ELNK) -- firms that sell the hardware, software, and bandwidth required to produce and distribute, say, a Howard Dean howl remix.

---

(Lawrence) Lessig [...] draws a timeline on a napkin, labeling one point "1888." "That's when the first Kodak (EK) camera was introduced," he says. "And around this time, a legal question arises: Do I need your permission to capture your image? The courts say no, I can pirate your image in most cases." Lessig then draws a line that spikes upward, representing the boom in photo equipment and processing sales that resulted from the liberalization of image content. "Imagine if the decision went the other way, so that I had to get permission every time I took someone's picture," he says. "The growth of the photography industry would have been very different." And much less lucrative.

Science fiction writer (and Business 2.0 contributor) Cory Doctorow [...] released (his book - Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom as a free download on his website. [...] In the 15 months that the book has been available online, Doctorow has recorded more than 300,000 downloads from his site. It's impossible to measure the effect that had on book sales, but the initial print run of 8,500 copies sold out, and the title is now out in paperback. Doctorow estimates that the speaking fees he received from people who hired him based on the buzz surrounding the giveaway version exceed the advance he received from his publisher.

---

In January, Apple released a new music-production program called GarageBand. A few weeks later, a group of college students launched MacBand, a site where people can upload and share their compositions. Hal Bergman, one of MacBand's co-creators, wanted to encourage users to allow others to build on their projects. "A lot of people won't upload or download music on sites where everything's copyrighted," he says.

When composers upload songs on MacBand, they're presented with the option of choosing a Creative Commons license. The result is that nearly every song on MacBand functions as raw material for new songs. The sharing not only spurs activity on MacBand, but also builds demand for Apple software and hardware.

---

Steve Fabrizio, formerly the Recording Industry Association of America's chief litigator and now a partner at the law firm Jenner & Block, it's far-fetched, but not impossible, to envision a top label embracing Creative Commons. "If Creative Commons builds enough brand awareness and respect for what it means, I see no reason why record companies that want to pre-authorize limited use of a work wouldn't think it was a great idea."

---

Inevitably, as more and more digital content is produced by so-called amateurs, sharing will increase no matter how Lessig's book -- or Creative Commons -- fares. As Allan Vilhan puts it, "I make music, and I want people to hear it." Yet if Creative Commons is successful, sharing will become even more pervasive. And a lot more money will be made along the way.

---

Oh, just go read it!

Email this entry to a friend
Email this entry to:
Your email address:
Message (optional):