Watching the Grammys last night, I found myself thoroughly enjoying the live performances, even from artists I don't generally follow (yes, I mean you, Justin Timberlake). There is so much creativity and musical talent in our country today, and we are all quite fortunate that these individuals are willing to share the result of their gifts and hard work with us. We are also lucky that we live in a society that respects artists' contributions to our culture and permits them to profit from their gifts and hard work when they do feel inclined to let us experience their output.

Of course, maybe I'm mistaken. Maybe they don't really want financial rewards. Maybe they don't want wealth. Perhaps they've read Lawrence Lessig, William Fisher and Yochai Benkler, and they realize that as part of a commons they should be seeking the adoration of their fans as their greatest reward. They should know that their work isn't really theirs; they created it so someone else can take it and modify it, perhaps use their song as the soundtrack over a hacked Japanese anime piece. They know that a really bright social engineer can come up with some sort of tax system that will provide them a sustainable living, which should be more than sufficient. After all, Mary J. Blige doesn't really need to wear three dresses in the course of an evening, does she? (Leave aside that she looked great in all of them...)

posted by Patrick Ross @ 11:19 AM | Free Culture Movement

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