It makes no sense to pay for something that is not scarce, like software and content. The scarcity is in the service, and that is what we pay for.
I think that people are starting to realize that artificial scarcity is a net loss for society, and that we should strive to make what's abundant as widely available as possible. Once the information exists, the only work that's necessary is distribution. That's why distribution channels will likely be the ones investing in content creation.
This whole criticism of artificial scarcity probably explains why many don't like patents. It just makes no sense to prevent others from doing things in certain ways simply because someone claims to have discovered it first.
Now, how do we encourage people to create content if they can't use force to ensure that they get paid for its consumption? There are many ways:
- Pay up front (Kickstarter)
- Donations
- Recognition (content is proof of your ability to make things)
- Custom/personalized content creation
- Use of new media that are not yet easy to distribute (distribution channels pay content creators to produce this new media in order to have something to distribute on their channel)
- Getting "paid" in non-scarce appreciation/reputation/trust currency (likely to replace money in the future)
Comments
No.
It makes no sense to pay for something that is not scarce, like software and content. The scarcity is in the service, and that is what we pay for.
I think that people are starting to realize that artificial scarcity is a net loss for society, and that we should strive to make what's abundant as widely available as possible. Once the information exists, the only work that's necessary is distribution. That's why distribution channels will likely be the ones investing in content creation.
This whole criticism of artificial scarcity probably explains why many don't like patents. It just makes no sense to prevent others from doing things in certain ways simply because someone claims to have discovered it first.
Now, how do we encourage people to create content if they can't use force to ensure that they get paid for its consumption? There are many ways:
- Pay up front (Kickstarter)
- Donations
- Recognition (content is proof of your ability to make things)
- Custom/personalized content creation
- Use of new media that are not yet easy to distribute (distribution channels pay content creators to produce this new media in order to have something to distribute on their channel)
- Getting "paid" in non-scarce appreciation/reputation/trust currency (likely to replace money in the future)
- Etc.