Micropayments · 20 June 2001
When there’s a direct exchange between creators ... and their audiences ... very small charges could earn those creators a decent living ... while the army of middlemen that dominated those markets can go back to selling detergent, real estate and two-by-fours.
— Scott McCloud on micropayments. I reckon he’s right. Napster wasn’t about stealing intellectual property, it was about attributing value to those who produce rather than those who sell; a fun blip of time during which assholes learned that sodomizing musicians for profit isn’t a birthright.
For the independent creative, it seems, things look good: the web is suited perfectly to niche markets and specialization – fans pay for what they like, no matter the ease of access.
Those of us who haven’t bought a CD from a retailer for years, but who happily buy directly from bands, will continue ignoring retyped press releases, continue to bypass the culture industry altogether, because we hate you, the air you breathe, your loathsome videos, your demographic strategy, your limp rage.
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