Artificial Scarcity Feeds the Pirates
“In an abundance model, scarcity looks like a mistake.”
From Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s blog: Scarcity and Abundance.
Which has really interesting things to say about the state of publishing, but also is applicable to so much more in the entertainment industry section of our so-called digital age. Why do people get so upset that they can’t get the latest episodes of a TV show, right now, when they want it, and in whatever form they want it?
Yes, people are greedy and impatient, but that’s not the totality of the issue. People are not completely pathological or they would never pay for anything ever, and shoplifting would be a bigger issue than it is. iTunes and Amazon would sell no digital content if that were the case.
“In an abundance model, scarcity looks like a mistake.” Whether in books, or TV shows, or movies, or games.