As a fan of open source software I’m astounded by how many amazing FREE solutions there are to problems that other companies charge LOTS of money for.
I’d like to explore this topic in some depth.
My thoughts on piracy are pretty straightforward — pay for anything that I enjoy and that doesn’t harm the world, pirate anything I might need that doesn’t deserve my money.
So, a film by a known rapist that I need to watch for research? Into the bay of pirates I sail!
Software to make music for fun? I’m paying for it.
But even though this system is straight forward, it’s not black and white. Lots of gray areas.
It’s even MORE complicated when it comes to knowledge. Knowledge should be free. And yet textbook prices are basically extortion.
And what about work of artists who have been dead for a long time? Lifetime + 70 years seems like a bit much. If the artist wanted a good life for their kin they should have probably put away some money for a nest egg.
And it’s not like the money goes to the family either! Half the time it’s publishers, production companies, and record labels that take most of the profits!
That also feels wrong.
And so yeah. I’d like to explore this a little and maybe formalize my thoughts in an essay or something.
Some tangentially (and directly) related videos from Benn Jordan: