Reply #5: Things are definitely shifting, but it need not be negative

[bhikkhu]

I think the big failure of the music industry is the result of the insistence of corporate interests to stand as impermeable barriers between artist and consumer. The publishing industry seems to be following the same model.

...which is to say, while the internet allows almost immediate access to any book or music through piracy, the only legitimate alternative the industry offers is convoluted and expensive, and (in my experience) unpleasantly final. One can "friend" a writer or musician directly on the internet, but in most cases one cannot directly download a writer or musician's work, whether for pay or not; one must choose between one of two possible intermediaries: an anonymous pirate association who cares nothing for anyone, or a corporate entity who also cares nothing for anyone, unless sufficient cash is forthcoming. The current arrangement is clearly antique and inefficient, and will likely be replaced by darwinian means.

What I see in the future is an inevitable democratization and opening up of the whole process, where the corporate part of the industry becomes increasingly superfluous. Like many, I would love to sample work directly from authors and artists, and I would love to directly and fairly support the work that enriches my own life.