A pseudonymous commenter on RoughType:

Yes, and I wonder to what extent this move [YouTube's decision to pay content providers] might help shore up the pro-IP argument out on the wild, woolly web. If even just subconsciously.

When the Digg masses see a raw demonstration of the process in action -- people, just like them, being rewarded for the value of their creations -- perhaps they will be forced to reevaluate their stance on file-sharing etc. Or to at least restructure their arguments: One bogeyman (the Rich Evil Entertainment Cartels) will have been rendered moot, and other standard assertions ("piracy doesn't hurt anybody") will have been made trickier.

Something has got to change the dismissive attitude among younger Internet users regarding IP and copyright. Maybe this is a start.