Week 9-#22

Well, I kind of jumped the gun on this one, though I should have seen it coming. That being said, I love the Gutenberg project as it really coincides with my philosophy of education for everyone; it provides access and therefore, liberation. I give both sites my full recommendation.
I am going to take the rest of this post and divert it toward a discussion on copyright. I am conflicted on the topic. On one hand, I believe the artist should be paid, on the other, I don't think digital transfer should cost the same as actual goods (books, cd's, dvd's, etc.). I don't think the artists get a larger percent of profit for a digital transfer, but you can bet Sony does. Previously, we needed recording labels to press thousands and millions of recordings. As an industry, this just happened in the last century. Now, we don't need them. This is no longer a viable industry, unless what they sell is the packaging, or fan clubs, or miscellaneous materials. I can understand that the recording companies are very worried. They should simply be gone. Am I saying people should download these illegally? No. I am saying that they should support artist that are independent of this power structure.
But it doesn't happen that way. The industry is tied to other monoliths, so Brittany sells Pespi which is a partner company of the label she's on, who owns a chain of theaters, that show a commercial, before the movie, and she's on the soundtrack . . .
One of the arguments is 'we won't have quality if we don't have the institutions to produce our art.' That doesn't seem to be the case. The same quality will exist, to some degree there will be even more quantity of 'quality' works, yet it will be inside a greater body of works that are created overall. Meaning, everyone is a producer in this circumstance. We are asked to be even more cognizant consumers. Hopefully, people create their own culture, as opposed to having a commodity made for them.
What about the question of correctly recognizing those who created it? What about plagiarism, teacher? I think in the digital age, it has never been easier to plagiarize. Yet at the same time, it also has never been easier to claim credit. Post your idea first, and you can always go back to the original time stamp. If it is original, then you have the original idea. However, from an academic standpoint, we have to demonstrate how to properly cite others as we work toward new and improved ideas. The rules have changed some, but not that much. An MLA citation from a Journal, is not that different from one from an online Journal article.