(Temporary?) Freedom

Amanda Palmer wrote a fascinating e-mail that explains how she was able to earn $19 000 in one month using Twitter, while at the same time she has not earned a single cent by selling 30 000 CDs. I'm fascinated with the ingenious ways artists of all stripes are able to use the digital economy to their advantage, but at the same time, a part of me wonders when this party is going to be busted up by all the fun-hating corporations.

Arts and commerce have always had a tense relationship, as any intro-level art history class will teach you. The tension has only increased in the 20th and 21st centuries. This is not to say that art needs to be free of any trace of commerce--that would just be silly. Where the problem arises is when financial concerns trump artistic concerns.

Look at the contemporary music industry. Thousands of artists work their fingers to the bone to fund the "big" groups. Consequently, even an act like Amanda Palmer can sell 30 000 albums without reaping any benefit. Artists have gotten wise to this, and as such you'll notice that all of these modern business models focus on getting rid of unnecessary middle men such as the major record labels.

The problem is, the record labels weren't always the artists' enemies. Indeed, there was a time in which the labels facilitated the artists' work. If we look at the groups facilitating Amanda Palmer's latest venture--the telecoms, the ISPs, social networking applications--we see a group of business that could easily become the next middle men (Yes, technically they already are middle men, but you know what I mean).

So what happens when ISPs start charging a commission on all music downloads? Not going to happen? They already no longer offer unlimited downloads, which means that as e-commerce increases and consumers download more and more video and audio, consumers will have to pay for "premium" accounts, meaning that the ISPs' earnings will increase in response to digital sales. Will we reach a point where these behaviours are as detrimental to the arts as those of the current major labels? Here's hoping not.