There doesn't appear to be an easy, broad brush solution. This is a very complicated case, mk. You know, a lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-you's. And, uh, lotta strands to keep in my head, man. Lotta strands in old Duder's head I'll mail the Coen Brothers a quarter for use of that line ;-)If infinite jackets could be produced without effort, I probably would be fine with everyone having one for free.
-That would be nice, but they wouldn't be free. There will be a cost to people not paying for content and that cost would be an erosion of the content. Why create a show like Game of Thrones for many millions of dollars if you cannot see a sizable profit. We may not be at this stage yet but the amount of "piracy" is only increasing. As grabbing your favorite jacket off the rack and stuffing it down your shorts becomes more acceptable, nobody will be paying for them.
I don't buy this. Some might just do it for the promise of riches, but I think history has shown that people create great things for other reasons. Also, I have no idea how many times my PDFs have been copied. That says something. I honestly don't see that as a real danger. IMO there are probably very reasonable distribution systems between what we have and total piracy that can allow for Game of Thrones. Interestingly, a new movement in RPGs has been crowdfunding. A pretty well known author Monty Cook decided to start making his own game. He was looking to raise $20k. Regarding musicians, I could imagine a band that tours, builds a following, and releases each album as a kickstarter, sending copies and shwag to the funders of each round.That would be nice, but they wouldn't be free. There will be a cost to people not paying for content and that cost would be an erosion of the content.
Why create a show like Game of Thrones for many millions of dollars if you cannot see a sizable profit. We may not be at this stage yet but the amount of "piracy" is only increasing.
I like crowd funding for art/music projects and perhaps even for small to mid budget films but if piracy was no longer taboo, regardless of the distribution system, big budget productions would no longer be feasible. Especially if copyright and TM were no longer honored. Game of Thrones t-shirts and lunch boxes could be made by anyone, eroding profit margins and making it next to impossible to get the sort of ROI that garners such a sizable up front investment. Would GoT still be made in to a TV show? Perhaps. Would it look the same? Probably not. I don't think that the producers, actors, writers and other creatives on the project made GoT for the promise of riches but in order to make it to the level they envisioned, it took riches. [edit] The First season cost between 50 and 60 million ] The kind of riches that a kickstarter program can't currently provide. Maybe crowd sourcing is the future, and I definitely find that appealing, but as it is we are in some strange middle ground. dude.