Peter Drucker; Post-Capitalist, Intellectual Property

13 November 2005

From an old Wired interview with the recently deceased Peter Drucker :

We have to rethink the whole concept of intellectual property, which was focused on the printed word. Perhaps within a few decades, the distinction between electronic transmissions and the printed word will have disappeared. The only solution may be a universal licensing system. Where you basically become a subscriber, and where it is taken for granted that everything that is published is reproduced. In other words, if you don't want everybody to know, don't talk about it. I
think we are getting there very fast. S: But if you have a knowledge-based economy, then how can you own the
knowledge? I have worked with musician Peter Gabriel on several projects. At a workshop we were holding for AT&T he was asked, "How do you deal with piracy of your albums?" Gabriel said, "Oh, I treat it as free advertising. I follow it with a rock concert. When they steal my albums in Indonesia, I go there and I perform." Now, that stands the whole relationship on its head. D: I feel very much the same way. Our entire mentality is still thing focused. We still call our trade in intellectual property "invisible trade." Hell! It ain't no more invisible than any other. We are still merchandise focused.

As I've been saying here for what, 10 years ? -- music is about services, not goods. Play live, recordings were a temporary money earner in the history of music. Synchronization rights are interesting, but live performance is still the solid money earner. People have to go out, get laid, get drunk, experience something. Musicians have to understand and work with this simple truth. Of course this also means that the music scene is largely an adjunct to the alcohol industry :) Which is why they sponsor so many festivals.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1.03/drucker.html?pg=5&topic=