Pay as you go
I’m quite happy with the way micropayments have turned out – even if I haven’t quite managed to crack the $20 barrier just yet. So far, the micropayment system of today seems to be what was originally promised – a quick, easy way to make and process payments and exchange information.
But part of what I love about the introduction of micropayments is the sheer volume of discussion on the subject. Here’s how the current discussion goes, from my perspective. And considering that I consider myself an artist, this discussion will obviously be a little bit skewed.
Artist: I’ve really enjoyed the work I’ve done online, and I appreciate the fan base I’ve managed to build up. But if I want to continue, I have to find a way to be paid. So I’m trying something new called “micropayments” that allows me to charge a small fee in exchange for new content.Consumer: Screw you! Information is supposed to be free!
Fascist Corporations: We’ve been watching everything you guys do, and we agree. That guy’s information should be free. But our information is mass-produced corporate product and therefore worth the exorbitant price we like to slap on it. So we propose a compromise. We will hold back technology and litigate to prevent development of any system that could ever be used to exchange our information freely – in the process destroying the independent artist’s legitimate use of such channels and technologies. In exchange for your co-operation with this, we promise to only stick red-hot needles under your fingernails and not – as we had originally planned – in your eyes.Consumer: Screw you! Information is supposed to be free!
Artist: Umm, excuse me. Yes, over here. I don’t know how I feel about your offered compromise, Mr. Fascist Corporations. I’m quite fond of the ability to decide for myself whether I want my information distributed freely or purchased at a price. I fear that your lust for cash will choke off my ability to use these new distribution channels, and that makes me sad.
Fascist Corporations: We didn’t win the Cold War just so Commie Faggot Beatniks like you could ruin this great capitalist society! Just for that, we’re going to sue you for damages.
Artist: Me? What damages?
Fascist Corporations: It’s your lax attitude toward the value of your cheap and amateurish creations that have created a market where people expect inexpensive entertainment.
Artist: Now wait just a cotton-pickin’ minute there. You’ve got some kind of goldurn nerve to call my content cheap and amateurish – remember Britney Spears’ In the Zone? Or how about a little flick called Gigli? I’ve seen better film on my teeth. My content is at least as valuable as yours, if not moreso.
Consumer: Screw you! Information is supposed to be free!
Fascist Corporations: Your puny insults mean nothing to us! The Butterfly Effect is a masterwork of delicate and sensitive genius! Justin Timberlake is an astounding R&B vocalist! We have more money than Jesus! Ve vill crush you! Sony, Sony über alles – Über alles in der Welt…
Consumer: Screw both of you! We’re on the cusp of a new digital age where the free flow of information cannot be stopped. No more will we be forced to consume the putrid pabulum produced by the pandering peasants of the entertainment industry. With the internet and emerging technologies, we have grown used to free content that covers a wide artistic and intellectual spectrum. The idyllic world of the free and open exchange of ideas has created an environment of harmony in which the creative mind flourishes.
Artist: Um, about that flourishing bit—
Consumer: Screw you! Information is supposed to be free!Artist: Look, I’m quite a fan of the free exchange of information, myself. That’s why I’m a vocal supporter of Creative Commons and I’ve frequently spoken out against the Fascist Corporations and the draconian methods they use to control the flow of data at the expense of both the artist and the consumer. Unfortunately, I tried to explain this concept to the grocer down the street, to the woman who sells me clothes at the thrift store, and to my landlord. While they all agreed that, yes, information should be free, they were still strongly in favor of charging money for food, clothing, and shelter. And considering that all I really have to sell right now is my information—
Consumer: Screw you! Information is supposed to be free, dammit!Fascist Corporations: Sony Frauen, Sony Treue, Sony Wein und Sony Sang…
Artist: Can I please just have my fifty cents?
Ain’t artistic license grand?