Tuesday’s class discussion about the prospect of a celestial jukebox brought up some interesting points. Most notably, many people were divided on the issue of whether or not it was a good idea to level the playing field between large corporations and smaller parties. Those arguing in favor of such a leveling believed that getting rid of distributors would make it easier for the smaller parties to have their work made available to people and, as a result, would get more notice. This may be true, but what must not be forgotten is that distribution is of itself an industry. Getting rid of this aspect of the process would most likely cost many individuals their jobs and would therefore create quite a bit of damage. As with anything else, the costs must be equally weighed with the benefits.
I agree with what is said above. Many aspects of our discussions are ignored simply because we don’t have sufficient time. In a struggling economy the loss of jobs would be another step backwards.
At first, leveling the field sounds like a good thing, making it easier for smaller groups to get started, and since for the most part, we are part of that side of the field, we sympathize. That’s probably why we forget or fail to realize, bringing some people up brings others down.