When
does creative work become a commodity and who decides when, what and how much
you pay for something? There are countless forums available on the internet
wherein producers and potential consumers can interact. Should the creative
works found on these sits be available to everyone or only those willing to
pay? YouTube is an example of one of these forums and interestingly has been
used by many artists to achieve the very level of success that allowed them to
start charging to view their work. When trying to avoid plagiarism and
infringement copyright policies new creators always reference where they get
their material. This sometimes allows them to create and distribute their own
work by building on someone else’s. This happens a lot with music videos and
video trailers. The purpose behind these editing’s can range “from a cheap gag
to biting political satire.”[1]
Nowadays
everything represented in every form of media can be accessed and edited. This
entire media is “decontextualized and recontextualized by users for the purpose
of attraction.”[2]
This happens frequently on a site called YouTube which acts as a free forum for
people to create and post their own videos, or even edit and repost someone
else’s. In 2006 the number of new videos
posted every 24 hours was 65,000. Seven years later this number has increased
dramatically. Postings on YouTube have contributed to increasingly more
restrictive copyright laws as people continue to pass off the work of others as
their own.
Interestingly
there have been celebrities who launched their careers on YouTube. Initially
they were happy just to have their work viewed but once popular they would only
allow those who could pay to view their work.. At what point is it acceptable
for the creator to demand payment? Ultimately every artist should be
compensated for their work. How much depends on demand. The question is, how
can we differentiate between what should be freely available and what should be
paid for; when does an artist’s work become a commodity?
“Since
the companies which create social media platforms make money from having as
many users as possible visit them…they have direct interest in having users
pour as much of their lives into these platforms as possible.”[3]
Recently this happened with You Tube; leading videos with ads. Once they
recognized the extent to which their site was being used they structured it so
as to maximize profitability. The use of these ads had begun the transition of
YouTube material from cultural commons to cultural commerce. It is likely
inevitable that one day there will be account charges, or some charge to
viewing the videos for more than 30 seconds. YouTube will no longer be a free
site, it will be a business.
Ultimately, all artistic works, regardless of
the motivation for their creation, have the potential to become a commodity. “…every
track out of a million or so available through iTunes sold at least once a
quarter. In other words, every track no matter how obscure found at least one
listener”[4].
Whether or not a creation becomes a commodity depends almost entirely on the
extent of demand for the particular creation. The only way to work towards a
cultural commons for material on the internet is to ensure that any works
reused for the purpose of creating a profit include payment to the original
artist or producer. Continued attempts to reap profits without recognizing the
rights of the producer will only lead to more restrictive copyright laws.
Hi Shannon,
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I have learnt how does a creative work become a commodity after reading your post. People create works and post them on websites. At the beginning, everyone is free to see the works. But when their works become popular, they start thinking to show their works only to people who are willing to pay. Thus their works become commodities. However, as the development of the media,creative works are easy to copy and spread.So that we can spend less money or even free to see the commodities. I think the copyright issue becomes a big problem in the new media age.
Zipei
Hey Shannon!
ReplyDeleteI loved your post, it was interesting as well as informative.
In the new media age we are involved in a lot of individuals commonly post information/forums/videos online to express themselves. I agree with your question of when do those expressions turn into a commodity and when will people be willing to pay.
In a previous post I mentioned the ways in which careers are created online and the ways YouTube will pay users after a certain amount of views.
With so many sources and forums to create new information it is easy for this information to be duplicated especially if the original work comes at a cost. There has been many circumstances that I have wanted to view something and was not able to without paying a fee or signing up for a website then found a duplicate copy for free on Google.
-paige johnson