Sometimes I think that the only way there will be a music industry is for the current one to go ahead and totally collapse, and then for the doomsday scenario to actually occur: For some reasonably value of "good music", there really isn't any more, for some large number of people's definitions of "good music". Only then would there be some real pressure to figure out how to make some money model work in the face of "free". The industry makes noises about how necessary they are, but "we" as a whole clearly don't believe them, and the only way they can prove they are right is to stop.
Of course, the music industry is stuck, in that it's very easy to make and distribute music. It's a common hobby, and has been for decades, and just gets cheaper and cheaper.
Maybe the movie industry could pull this off; while movies will continue to get easier and easier, I doubt a "summer blockbuster" will ever get as easy as music is now, if for no other reason than the fact that a five minute song is adequate but a "full" movie is an hour and a half, and each minute is intrinsically harder.
What if there isn't actually any way to monetize these industries? Should anything be done about that? What should, and what could, be done? I don't think going all draconian on copyright is worth it for society (the value of the movie industry is not infinite and it's distinctly less than free speech and freedom in general, no matter how they feel), but are there any other options? Because let's get real, we're not going to donate or micropay our way to "Star Trek" or "Terminator 4".
Of course, the music industry is stuck, in that it's very easy to make and distribute music. It's a common hobby, and has been for decades, and just gets cheaper and cheaper.
Maybe the movie industry could pull this off; while movies will continue to get easier and easier, I doubt a "summer blockbuster" will ever get as easy as music is now, if for no other reason than the fact that a five minute song is adequate but a "full" movie is an hour and a half, and each minute is intrinsically harder.
What if there isn't actually any way to monetize these industries? Should anything be done about that? What should, and what could, be done? I don't think going all draconian on copyright is worth it for society (the value of the movie industry is not infinite and it's distinctly less than free speech and freedom in general, no matter how they feel), but are there any other options? Because let's get real, we're not going to donate or micropay our way to "Star Trek" or "Terminator 4".