Sharing : Culture and the Economy in the Internet Age

An in-depth exploration of digital culture and its dissemination, Sharing offers a counterpoint to the dominant view that file sharing is piracy. Instead, Philippe Aigrain looks at the benefits of file sharing, which allows unknown writers and artists to be appreciated more easily. Concentrating not only on the cultural enrichment caused by widely shared digital media, Sharing also discusses new financing models that would allow works to be shared freely by individuals without aim at profit. Aigrain carefully balances the needs to support and reward creative activity with a suitable respect for the cultural common good and proposes a new interpretation of the digital landscape.

n the past fifteen years, file sharing of digital cultural works between individuals has been at the center of a number of debates on the future of culture itself. To some, sharing constitutes piracy, to be fought against and eradicated. Others see it as unavoidable, and table proposals to compensate for its harmful effects. Meanwhile, little progress has been made towards addressing the real challenges facing culture in a digital world. Sharing is Legitimate
An in-depth exploration of digital culture and its dissemination, Sharing offers a counterpoint to the dominant view that file sharing, far being piracy, is the modern form of long recognized rights to share in culture. Sharing starts from a radically different viewpoint, namely that the non-market sharing of digital works is both legitimate and useful. Philippe Aigrain looks at the benefits of file sharing, which allows unknown writers and artists to be appreciated more easily. It supports this premise with empirical research, demonstrating that non-market sharing leads to more diversity in the attention given to various works. New Business Models
Concentrating not only on the cultural enrichment caused by widely shared digital media, Sharing also discusses new financing models that would allow works to be shared freely by individuals without aim at profit. Aigrain carefully balances the needs to support and reward creative activity with a suitable respect for the cultural common good and proposes a new interpretation of the digital landscape. Living Book
Sharing will be published as a 'living book' on WWW.SHARING-THEBOOK.COM. The author will continuously update the book with the latest developments in the field of digital file sharing. Readers are also invited to join in the discussion and provide updates to the book. Sharing is an Open Access publication and can be distributed under under a Creative Commons (CC BY NC ND) license.

In The Past Fifteen Years, File Sharing Of Digital Cultural Works Between Individuals Has Been At The Center Of A Number Of Debates On The Future Of Culture Itself. To Some, Sharing Constitutes Piracy, To Be Fought Against And Eradicated. Others See It As Unavoidable, And Table Proposals To Compensate For Its Harmful Effects. Meanwhile, Little Progress Has Been Made Towards Addressing The Real Challenges Facing Culture In A Digital World. Sharing Starts From A Radically Different Viewpoint, Namely That The Non-market Sharing Of Digital Works Is Both Legitimate And Useful. It Supports This Premise With Empirical Research, Demonstrating That Non-market Sharing Leads To More Diversity In The Attention Given To Various Works. Taking Stock Of What We Have Learned About The Cultural Economy In Recent Years, Sharing Sets Out The Conditions Necessary For Valuable Cultural Functions To Remain Sustainable In This Context.--[p] 4 Of Cover. Introduction -- Setting The Scene. The Internet And Creativity Debate -- The Value Of Non-market Sharing -- Sustainable Resources For Creative Activities -- The Creative Contribution. Which Rights For Whom? A Choice Of Models -- Defining Rights And Obligations -- How Much? -- Sustainable Financing For The Commons -- Implementation. Organization And Complementary Policy Measures -- Usage Measurement For Equitable Rewards -- Clarification And Counter-arguments -- From Proposal To Reality -- Appendixes. Diversity Of Attention For Beginners -- The Total Cost Of Rewards And Their Distribution -- Modeling Usage Measurement. Philippe Aigrain ; With The Contribution Of Suzanne Aigrain. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 221-229) And Index. "In the past fifteen years, file sharing of digital cultural works between individuals has been at the center of a number of debates on the future of culture itself. To some, sharing constitutes piracy, to be fought against and eradicated. Others see it as unavoidable, and table proposals to compensate for its harmful effects. Meanwhile, little progress has been made towards addressing the real challenges facing culture in a digital world. Sharing starts from a radically different viewpoint, namely that the non-market sharing of digital works is both legitimate and useful. It supports this premise with empirical research, demonstrating that non-market sharing leads to more diversity in the attention given to various works. Taking stock of what we have learned about the cultural economy in recent years, Sharing sets out the conditions necessary for valuable cultural functions to remain sustainable in this context. Our software and datasets can be downloaded from the book site at http://www.sharing-thebook.net. On the same site, the reader can also run our models with adjusted parameters and upload datasets in order to run our algorithms for the study of diversity of attention"--Publisher's description Publication offers a counterpoint to the dominant view that file sharing is piracy, analyzing it rather as the modern form of long recognized rights to share in culture. It starts from a radically different viewpoint, namely that the non-market sharing of digital works is both legitimate and useful. Philippe Aigrain looks at the benefits of file sharing, which allows unknown writers and artists to be appreciated more easily. It supports this premise with empirical research, demonstrating that non-market sharing leads to more diversity in the attention given to various works. Concentrating not only on the cultural enrichment caused by widely shared digital media, publication also discusses new financing models that would allow works to be shared freely by individuals without aim at profit. Aigrain carefully balances the needs to support and reward creative activity with a suitable respect for the cultural common good and proposes a new interpretation of the digital landscape "In the past fifteen years, file sharing of digital cultural works between individuals has been at the center of a number of debates on the future of culture itself. To some, sharing constitutes piracy, to be fought against and eradicated. Others see it as unavoidable, and table proposals to compensate for its harmful effects. Meanwhile, little progress has been made towards addressing the real challenges facing culture in a digital world. Sharing starts from a radically different viewpoint, namely that the non-market sharing of digital works is both legitimate and useful. It supports this premise with empirical research, demonstrating that non-market sharing leads to more diversity in the attention given to various works. Taking stock of what we have learnt about the cultural economy in recent years, Sharing sets out the conditions necessary for valuable cultural functions to remain sustainable in this context."--P. [4] of cover. "In the past fifteen years, file sharing of digital cultural works between individuals has been at the center of a number of debates on the future of culture itself. To some, sharing constitutes piracy, to be fought against and eradicated. Others see it as unavoidable, and table proposals to compensate for its harmful effects. Meanwhile, little progress has been made towards addressing the real challenges facing culture in a digital world. Sharing starts from a radically different viewpoint, namely that the non-market sharing of digital works is both legitimate and useful. It supports this premise with empirical research, demonstrating that non-market sharing leads to more diversity in the attention given to various works. Taking stock of what we have learnt about the cultural economy in recent years, Sharing sets out the conditions necessary for valuable cultural functions to remain sustainable in this context."--Page 4 of cover Introduction [pt. I]. Setting the scene. The Internet and creativity debate The value of non-market sharing Sustainable resources for creative activities [pt. II]. The creative contribution. Which rights for whom? a choice of models Defining rights and obligations How much? Sustainable financing for the commons [pt. III]. Implementation. Organization and complementary policy measures Usage measurement for equitable rewards Clarification and counter-arguments From proposal to reality Appendixes. Diversity of attention for beginners The total cost of rewards and their distribution Modeling usage measurement.