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the pirate s dilemma how youth culture is reinventing capitalism matt mason free press new york london toronto sydney[close]
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the pirate s dilemma how youth culture is reinventing capitalism matt mason free press new york london toronto sydney[close]
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free press a division of simon schuster inc 1230 avenue of the americas new york ny 10020 copyright © 2008 by matt mason all rights reserved including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever for information address free press subsidiary rights department 1230 avenue of the americas new york ny 10020 free press and colophon are trademarks of simon schuster inc designed by kyoko watanabe illustration by ji lee visit us at http www.simonsays.com library of congress control number 2007023530 also available as a paperback in great britain from allen lane first published in great britain by allen lane 2008 a division of the penguin group penguin books ltd 80 strand london wc2r 0rl england penguin group usa inc 375 hudson street new york new york 10014 usa www.penguin.co.uk a cip catalogue record for this book is available fro the british library[close]
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contents intro enter the lollipop 1 punk capitalism from d.i.y to downloading sneakers 2 the tao of pirates sea forts patent trolls and why we need piracy 3 we invented the remix cut n paste culture creates some new common ground 4 the art of war street art branding and the battle for public space 5 boundaries disco nuns the death of the record industry and our open-source future 6 real talk how hip-hop makes billions and could bring about world peace 7 ethernomics pillow fights happy slaps and other memes that leave a mark outro the pirate s dilemma changing the game theory acknowledgments notes index 1 9 33 68 103 134 172 202 231 241 245 269[close]
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intro enter the lollipop meter pop street installation by mark jenkins independence avenue washington d.c january 15 2006 © mark jenkins imagine you re in your car rolling down independence avenue in washington d.c it s a cold crisp january morning you flick on the radio and rotate through the fm crackle until a song you like hacks its way through the static you twist the tuner until you re locked in and the track floats from the speakers in clear stereo filling the vehicle but not for long moments later at the light an suv lurches to a stop beside you blasting bass-heavy hip-hop beats your music instantly splinters as the low-end frequencies of the superior neighboring system rattle your windows you glare at the guy reclining in the driver s seat but his cap is pulled too low over his face to catch his eye 1[close]
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2 the pirate s dilemma and the sunlight is catching on the expensive-looking watch on his left arm stretched across the steering wheel as the bass reverberates through the traffic he nods in time with a stuttering snare drum gravelly lyrics make their way out into the winter air this guy it strikes you could be hip-hop s modern-day poster child he exudes swagger confidence and aspiration the penchant for heavyweight cars and luxury jewelry is obvious yet the sound track suggests a deep-seated connection to the street and the perceived realities of poverty he looks like an extra from a p diddy video but he could be a college student crack dealer or quantum physicist there is no way of telling he could be from any number of social or ethnic backgrounds this guy is one of a hundred million people in the united states alone under hip-hop s influence enchanted by one of the largest cultural movements on our planet today to many he represents the sum total of youth culture s progress but you re too busy admiring his watch and glaring at his obnoxious speakers to check your mirrors if you had you might have noticed that the future of youth culture is actually pulling up behind you what you did notice is your radio which has just cut out you lean forward and adjust the tuner nothing in the suv next to you the radio has gone silent too you look across to see hip-hop s poster child banging his dashboard he looks as frustrated as you are you check the sunroof the skies are clear no aliens jamming your signal nothing in your rearview mirror either except some kid in a prius with a blank expression of course you can t see the ipod connected to a modified itrip on his passenger seat it s even less likely that you d guess he s using these devices to broadcast silence across the entire fm band transmitting tranquillity pirate-style in the thirty-foot radius around his car the unassuming face in the prius is the latest in a long line of youth culture revolutionaries a band of radio pirates who have manipulated media for decades they founded hollywood reinvented many forms of broadcasting and helped win the cold war while changing the face of media around the world the guy in the prius like his many[close]
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enter the lollipop 3 predecessors has gone almost completely unnoticed by mainstream society the light turns green and you pull away still puzzled about what just happened you head straight on as the suv and the prius hang a right onto ninth street toward the southwest freeway your radio suddenly comes back to life a few minutes later you ve almost forgotten the incident as you park farther down the avenue but as you fumble for change for the meter you are about to have an even stranger encounter with youth culture instead of the parking meter you use every day a four-foot-high lemon-yellow lollipop is sticking out of the ground basking unapologetically in the morning sunshine did you accidentally park on the set of hansel gretel on closer inspection it becomes clear you didn t the parking meter has been remixed into a piece of countercultural candy its sugary facade made entirely of bright yellow scotch tape it is the calling card of another group of society s unsung heroes a group of pirates who manipulate public space rather than the public airwaves the lollipop is one of the many hallmarks of an invisible army who started a revolution with pens and spray cans they have affected advertising fashion film and design among other industries they have established billiondollar brands focused the media spotlight on controversial political issues and changed the way we think about the world around us on our airwaves in our public spaces and through the new layers of digital information that envelop us pirates are changing the way we use information and in fact the very nature of our economic system from radio pirates to graffiti artists to open-source culture to the remix the ideas behind youth cultures have evolved into powerful forces that are changing the world for the last sixty years capitalism has run a pretty tight ship in the west but in increasing numbers pirates are hacking into the hull and holes are starting to appear privately owned property ideas and privileges are leaking out into the public domain beyond anyone s control pirates are rocking the boat as a result people corporations and governments across the planet are facing a new dilemma the pirate s[close]
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