Who needs an eye patch to be a pirate?
Credit where credit is due. This is the basic concept that keeps the clogs of modern society turning. If I create or produce a concept or product I am entitled to the positives, negatives and benefits that come from it. A basic concept, that works on trust and the assumption of conformity. This is the basis of copyright which did (and still does to an extent) help to maintain a producer/user happy relationship. However with globalisation and the free flow of information in the burgeoning digital age the user has gained an upper hand. The human element, the trust which holds this agreement together is being dropped. Why? Not one factor can explain the shift in consumer attitudes however I believe anonymity is both the problem and potential solution. The question is how do we re-establish a balance between the user and the producer and do we even want or need to?
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The massive rapid expansion of assessable audiences has led to a disconnection with the product and its end user. If you are one of millions, it is easy to feel less responsible be it to an artist and their song or to a company and their product. Yes, this leads to a fatal flaw in the previous model. Hence countries, governments and others are rushing to add stricter penalties, restrictions and rules to products available to the user. Thus going head to head against the growing tread, that of the user holding the power in the relationship. This will work to an extent, in general the mass population does not believe that they hold the upper hand. They still follow to the previous business model and legal or moral obligations binds them to that. Thus the current model is still working, just less effectively than before. So how can producers of information/products/art combat the users that hold their new found power? By not combating it at all, by working alongside their audiences. By making the user want to give over their credit.
A few years ago I attended a Lily Allen concert in Melbourne. I liked the artist and felt they were worthy of my money. Many years later after a disappointing concert I was left much less inclined to pay for her new album. I felt that I had contributed enough to the producer to warrant obtaining the new album wearing my eye patch.
The above example represents to me the future business model that producers and end users must continue to embrace. No longer will consumers have an inherent trust in the producer or their product. This trust must be earned and given away freely. If and artist can inject enough into their audience they will reap their rewards. The power is now truly in the users hands and many will still sit somewhere between these two models reaping the rewards for themselves but I believe that quality will prevail and that producers are already well on their way to this realisation.
