Skip to content

There are too few nonprofit organizations like CC fighting for the commons – support our vital leadership with an end of year contribution. Donate today!

Elvis did to who?

Uncategorized

Lucas Gonze has a way with words:

Can I just say this? Napster politics are brutally boring. The action right now is in making the music and video owned by the major labels and film studios archaic and unpopular. We’re going to do to those properties what talkies did to silent films, what political bloggers did to Dan Rather, what Elvis did to Mantovani. Our stuff is better, that’s how we’re going to win.

Forcibly liberating that old stuff is a painfully stupid strategy. The more unauthorized filesharing you do, the more attention you give those old cutural fiefdoms, the more money you generate to sue you with. It is a total waste of time.

Creative Commons is of course the antithesis of forcible liberation. You can choose to participate in free culture, or not.

The legal tools and technology for free culture are loosed. Free content is burgeoning (ex: 83,360 licensed tracks on Soundclick, now).

As many others have pointed out, the immediate challenge is discovery. Who will be our Elivses? Who will find and promote them?

By the way, a Mantovani fan site. No disrespect intended, you just may not have heard of this great star of pop music, pre-Rock’n’Roll.

Posted 14 December 2004

Tags