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Digital Rights - The Revolution of the Arts

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here are a number of books on the market that no longer contain book descriptions, only random, single sentence "reviews" splashed along the back cover that seem to suggest that someone else's opinion of the book is meant to replace telling readers what the book is actually about. Or perhaps they imagine that readers already know, considering the basic formulas followed in creating "new" bestsellers. And while many new Borders stores allow CDs to be previewed through scan systems, older stores have not been able to afford this expensive equipment. Most "superstores" either do not have this equipment or have equipment that only allows you to "preview" a short snippet of the most popular songs of the most popular bands—music that you can readily hear on the radio or TV.

These tactics limit artist exposure and narrow consumer choices, yet other, highly successful systems of "previewing" work have long since been in place.

Perhaps one of the largest and best known institutions offering free access to creative works is the library—a place where music, books, and movies can be borrowed and read, listened to, watched, and enjoyed. In fact, you may even loan your own CDs, books, and video tapes to your family and friends. Recording devices, such as the cassette player and cassette tapes, coupled with the radio, have enabled consumers to copy music and share it with others. Neither system crippled the industry or its artists and authors. In some cases, sharing information in this way often garnered more interest in a quality author or artist, not less.

Perhaps another way to garner profit while still offering free previews or products is to offer incentives for purchased versions that do not exist in free versions. In some respects, we see the recording industry placing this tactic into effect in modern-day markets. You may purchase a music CD that has bonus tracks or a bonus DVD with videos included. (However, the costs of these bonuses are typically charged to the consumer in ever-rising prices for media.) A more open source example of a free product with fee-based incentives is the release of a 3D rendering program called Blender. Blender is a highly sophisticated 3D rendering program, which is absolutely free of charge. Consider a few programs that offer some similar features: Bryce 5.0 retails for $80.00; Carrara 3 retails for about $399.00; and 3Ds Max 5 retails for about $1500.00. Although the Blender program itself is free, the manual is not. It can be purchased for about $40.00. This seems to be a functional strategy. If you are industrious enough, you can work your way through it on your own, but if you really want to take full advantage of the product, you can get the quality manual—still for less than the cost of a similar program.

Aside from offering digital versions of your work, for those who are avid readers, print and bound books are still considered superior to e-books. Readers may choose to purchase a physical copy of your book for the same reasons that they may wish to purchase one that they have borrowed from a friend previously or from a library. They will want to add it to their collection.

Some authors also offer free readings of a manuscript while it is in progress (even accepting comments from readers) and then charge for the work once it has been completed, edited, and formatted for publication. Those who were curious along the way seem even more so to read the finished work—especially if they feel that they may have played some role in the process. Although some artists and authors may feel furious about work being leaked to the public prior to its completion, some look at it as an excellent way to share with others the evolution of the creative process.

The methods listed above all employ some method of copyright protection, as it must still be the author's right to protect their work and to have the sole right to the benefits of their work—if they so choose. The hope is that by changing the way we approach the industry, by being willing to share our work and our ideas, by producing a quality and creative product, and by pricing the work in a reasonable fashion, we can work to change the mindset that has created a system of disrespect and theft.

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