"Having this gatekeeper position - having had this gatekeeper position - teaches somebody what power is, in the worst sense of the word."
This is a very key point. A lot of the big companies in the content industries (the author's "Copyright Industry") are accustomed to owning and operating the channels through which they distribute their content. In fact, they started out as channels first, and content developers second. Their entire worldview is still centered on the idea that the content serves the channel, and the channel is where the power and money is made. (And many of these companies are accustomed a government-protected oligopoly over their channels).
The internet has, since its inception, been a big threat to these companies -- but not for the reasons everyone assumes. People think it's a war over "copyright," or over monetization of content. But in fact, that's sort of the side issue. It's actually a war over ownership of distribution channels. There's a bigger picture here, and copyright is only a piece of it.
Is that somehow a reference to Philip K Dick? My mind goes to 'the man in the high castle' where CA is actually separated in North California and South California.
As much as I enjoyed "The Man In The High Castle", I'd completely forgotten that tidbit. It was intended as a serious suggestion (albeit one that needs a good deal of thinking through).
This is a very key point. A lot of the big companies in the content industries (the author's "Copyright Industry") are accustomed to owning and operating the channels through which they distribute their content. In fact, they started out as channels first, and content developers second. Their entire worldview is still centered on the idea that the content serves the channel, and the channel is where the power and money is made. (And many of these companies are accustomed a government-protected oligopoly over their channels).
The internet has, since its inception, been a big threat to these companies -- but not for the reasons everyone assumes. People think it's a war over "copyright," or over monetization of content. But in fact, that's sort of the side issue. It's actually a war over ownership of distribution channels. There's a bigger picture here, and copyright is only a piece of it.