Brands are obsessed with appearing cool; therefore, they capture and mine youth

Information doesn't want to be free
What’s in it for me? Learn why copyright laws 
need to change.
The internet, though relatively young, has 
already completely changed the way we 
communicate, socialize and learn about the 
world. It has also opened up entirely new modes 
of content consumption, be that content music, 
movies or books. We now live in the world of file-
sharing, where paying for music, movies or 
software might seem outdated, because, 
usually, it’s possible to download it for free.
When attacked, the proponents of file-sharing 
protest that information wants to be free. But 
does it, really?
In these blinks, you’ll learn

Why copyright laws need to change;

Why locking your content up is not the 
way to go; and

How a Pennsylvania school spied on 
their students.
Despite the internet, people still want to pay 
for quality content.
People often say that the rise of the internet 
precipitated the downfall of record labels and 
copyright law. Huge record labels no longer 
have much say in who emerges as the next big 
musical star. Stars now rise and fall online, and 
the internet has its own criteria. It’s in this 
environment that no-name indie bands like the 
Arctic Monkeys can achieve monumental 
success.
But how does this work?
Well, the internet has made fundamental 
changes to how consumers access creative 
content. If you want to listen to a song or look at 
a painting, for instance, you no longer need to 
pay for an album or a museum ticket; you just 
need to go online. As a result, people are 

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growing accustomed to free access. We stream 
movies; we listen to music on YouTube; we 
search for images.
But, in such an environment, artists must be 
unable to earn money from their content, right?
Actually, not really. If given the opportunity, 
people still want to pay for quality content. In 
fact, since the advent of art, there have always 
been people willing to pay for it. For instance, 
long ago, patrons greatly influenced the creative 
process of artists like Michelangelo. More 
recently, this power was wielded by major labels 
like EMI, who paid bands like The Beatles for 
their music. And today, thanks to the internet, 
lovers of art can directly pay those making it.
So, the internet is actually advantageous for 
artists.
When people are given free creative content, 
like music on YouTube, a lot of them will check it 
out, appreciate it and move on without spending 
a dime. But there will always be a few who want 
to support and appreciate the artist by paying, 
especially if paying the artist is easy. If all it 
takes is typing a song name into the iTunes 
Store, some consumers will always pay their fair 
share instead of illegally downloading a lower-
quality file.