Originally Posted by
Chris Holmes
While we all bemoan the death of retail market and the homogeneity of a monopoly, we sit on top of a potential and inevitable revolution, where at least for a while the artists and their fans can control their own fate. In the days of the major label, it was difficult if not impossible to collaborate with other artists because of contractual obligations and restrictions. Those days for the most part are gone; in their absence, we need build up a community of artists for artists, an artistic league of nations. This is a call for open source collaboration, to build out the model and spread the word. We can all be our own record store, bookstore or movie store; in that individuality, we are guaranteed diversity and support of the arts. Fans need to know that the money they spend on the arts goes directly to the artists they support, and this process should be as transparent as possible. People who are doing the work of promoting and sharing that art need to be rewarded; as such, diversity is guaranteed by the proliferation of stores based on a wide variety of tastes and interests. No longer will it make sense for a store to feature the same ten mainstream artists on their blogs and stores because a million other stores are hosting the same thing. People must be encouraged to explore and find new material to bring to other people, and artists will then be encouraged to take chances and develop their own style and fan bases. Together, we will flourish as we pull back from the brink, but only if we can invest in a new model that addresses these concerns. The name I have chosen for this model is “The Privateer System.”
That name is based on the historical decree of the British Crown legitimizing piracy, so long as it was for the benefit of the crown. With The Privateer System, I am suggesting that as artists we do the same with file sharers and bloggers. The Privateer model provides a mode where tastemakers and file-sharers are rewarded and their contribution is encouraged, rather than in the current model, where they are looked at as a cancer that is eroding the system. We take that system, legitimatize it, and help the people doing the heavy lifting in the spread of music make a profit, all while making a profit for artists. As Privateers, we, as artists for the arts, can create a symbiotic system where fans can support the arts, and artists can blossom. We have taken a lose/lose scenario for the artist and the consumer and turned it in to a win/win: creativity can flow, and tastemakers can be rewarded and incentivized for turning people on to cool stuff. This model also works with film, books, music and any digital media. It is not a total solution, but it is a start.
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