[cc-sampling] Artistic Freedom Voucher

mark / negativland markhosler at charter.net
Tue Nov 25 16:54:31 EST 2003


This was just sent to me...an interesting and optimistic idea!

mark




>“The Artistic Freedom Voucher:
>Internet Age Alternative to Copyrights”
>by Dean Baker
>
>The Center for Economic and Policy Research 
>would like to announce the release of a research 
>paper entitled “The Artistic Freedom Voucher: 
>Internet Age Alternative to Copyrights” by 
>economist and co-director Dean Baker. The 
>Artistic Freedom Voucher (AFV) is an efficient, 
>realistic alternative to an antiquated copyright 
>system that cannot keep up with the Internet 
>Age; the AFV could potentially revolutionize the 
>way in which creative artists fund their work. 
>Please find the executive summary and links to 
>the full papers included below.
>
>Copyrights and the AFV are alternative ways in 
>which the government can support creative 
>workers. The AFV is an alternative designed to 
>maximize the power of individual choice, while 
>working with the full potential of technology. 
>Whereas the copyright system provides a 
>state-enforced monopoly leading to enormous 
>costs, inefficiencies and enforcement problems, 
>the AFV provides a voucher system for creative 
>workers that would lead to savings to consumers, 
>taxpayers and the government. Lower advertising 
>costs, an end to police or FBI crackdowns on 
>students downloading music, and less monitoring 
>by internet service providers of their customers 
>are just a few examples of savings from the AFV 
>system.
>
>To summarize briefly, the AFV would allow each 
>adult to contribute a refundable tax credit to a 
>creative worker of their choice. For example, a 
>$100 voucher per adult could provide 500,000 
>creative workers a salary of $40,000 a year. 
>Recipients of AFV funding (artists, writers, 
>musicians, singers, actors, etc.) would then 
>provide their creative work to the public 
>without a copyright monopoly, where the public 
>could exchange, download, reproduce and enjoy 
>the creative work legally, efficiently and 
>inexpensively. The AFV would still allow for a 
>musician to receive money for live concerts, an 
>actor for performing in a play, or a writer for 
>speaking at a university. The AFV is designed to 
>provide a realistic alternative to copyrights 
>that takes the reality of evolving technology 
>into account.
>
>The full paper is available at: http://www.cepr.net/AFV.htm
>
>Or in PDF format at: http://www.cepr.net/Afv.pdf
>
>
>
>Please feel free to contact Dr. Dean Baker at 
>baker at cepr.net or (202) 293-5380 ext. 229 with 
>your questions or feedback. If you are 
>interested in scheduling a talk or citing his 
>paper, please contact Marya Murray Díaz at 
>murraydiaz at cepr.net.
>
>The Center for Economic and Policy Research is 
>an independent, nonpartisan think tank that was 
>established to promote democratic debate on the 
>most important economic and social issues that 
>affect people's lives.
>
>1621 Connecticut Ave., NW  Suite 500 Washington, DC  20009
>Tel: 202-293-5380 | Fax: 202-588-1356 | www.cepr.net | cepr at cepr.net
>
>Executive Summary
>
>The institution of copyrights has its origins in 
>the feudal guild system. Copyrights provide an 
>incentive for creative or artistic work by 
>providing a state-enforced monopoly. Like any 
>other monopoly, this system leads to enormous 
>inefficiencies, and creates substantial 
>enforcement problems. The size of these 
>inefficiencies and the extent of the enforcement 
>problems have increased dramatically in the 
>Internet Age, as digital technology allows for 
>the costless reproduction of written material, 
>and recorded music and video material.
>
>The artistic freedom voucher (AFV) is an 
>alternative mechanism for supporting creative 
>and artistic work. It is designed to maximize 
>the extent of individual choice, while taking 
>full advantage of the potential created by new 
>technology.
>
>The AFV would allow each individual to 
>contribute a refundable tax credit of 
>approximately $100 to a creative worker of their 
>choice, or to an intermediary who passes funds 
>along to creative workers. Recipients of the AFV 
>(creative workers and intermediaries) would be 
>required to register with the government in the 
>same way that religious or charitable 
>organizations must now register for tax-exempt 
>status. This registration is only for the 
>purpose of preventing fraud - it does not 
>involve any evaluation of the quality of the 
>work being produced.
>
>In exchange for receiving AFV support, creative 
>workers would be ineligible for copyright 
>protection for a significant period of time 
>(e.g. five years). Copyrights and the AFV are 
>alternative ways in which the government 
>supports creative workers. Creative workers are 
>entitled to be compensated once for their work, 
>not twice. The AFV would not affect a creative 
>workers ability to receive money for concerts or 
>other live performances.
>
>The AFV would create a vast amount of 
>uncopyrighted material. A $100 per adult voucher 
>would be sufficient to pay 500,000 writers, 
>musicians, singers, actors, or other creative 
>workers $40,000 a year. All of the material 
>produced by these workers would be placed in the 
>public domain where it could be freely 
>reproduced.
>
>Under plausible assumptions, the savings from 
>reduced expenditures on copyrighted material 
>would vastly exceed the cost of the AFV. Much of 
>this savings would be the direct result of 
>individuals' decisions to use AFV supported 
>music, movies, writings and other creative work 
>in place of copyright-protected work. A second 
>source of savings would be the result of lower 
>advertising costs, since much of the material 
>used in advertising supported media would be in 
>the public domain.
>
>In contrast to copyright protection, which 
>requires restrictions on the use of digital 
>technology, the AFV would allow for the full 
>potential of this technology to be realized. 
>Creative workers would benefit most when their 
>material was as widely distributed as possible. 
>They would therefore have incentives to promote 
>technologies that allow for recorded music, 
>video, and written material to be transferred as 
>easily as possible. By contrast, copyright 
>enforcement is demanding ever greater levels of 
>repression (e.g. restriction on publishing 
>software codes, tracking computer use, and 
>getting records from Internet service providers) 
>in order to prevent the unauthorized 
>reproduction of copyrighted material. The police 
>crackdowns on unauthorized copying by college 
>students, and even elementary school kids, would 
>be completely unnecessary for work supported by 
>the AFV.
>
>
>Marya Murray Diaz
>Outreach Coordinator
>Center for Economic and Policy Research
>1621 Connecticut Ave., NW Suite 500
>Washington, DC 20009
>(202) 293-5380 ext. 208
>fax: (202) 588-1356
>murraydiaz at cepr.net
>
>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Map mailing list
>Map at main.nc.us
>http://main.nc.us/mailman/listinfo/map

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HEY!! LOOKEE!! Please note my new e-mail address 
that I am writing to you from -

mark / negativland <markhosler at charter.net>


My old address at attbi.com is no longer being used.



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