Freeloaders

Taking a rare and refreshingly unbiased look at the phenomenon of internet piracy, Chris Ruen's book, Freeloading: How Our Insatiable Appetite For Free Content Starves Creativity, is that rarest of discursive entities: a call for more conversation, both balanced and passionate. As the title makes clear, under discussion here is the all-pervasive practice of digital piracy and the effects it has on our culture, with a bias towards how it impacts on independent musicians in particular. But what is truly extraordinary about Freeloading is that it manages to present the pros and cons of all sides of the argument calmly and methodically, without the hyperbole that typically surrounds the subject. Even when disagreeing wholeheartedly with Ruen, as this writer did on several occasions, it's impossible not to be enlightened by his rigorous research and his even-handed approach. What's more, Ruen admits straight up that disagreement is something he's decidedly comfortable with.

“Obviously no one's going to agree with everything in the book,” he says. “It would be crazy to expect that. One of my conceits is that a big problem with the debate has been a lack of discussion from a certain perspective. When I became aware of the issue I was just really shocked that there wasn't more of a voice that seemed to speak for the independent artist. What I was hoping to accomplish with the book was to plug that hole and, hopefully, create the foundation for a slightly more balanced discussion.”

What does Ruen hope will be the result of this more balanced discussion? While he admits that major record companies have often been their own worst enemies in the debate surrounding piracy so far, he indicates that they could also have an important role to play in moving forward.

“Instead of just talking about how terrible the industry is, maybe we can imagine a better industry. In America, there's not a lot of public trust for institutions of any kind, whether it's the government or corporations. And in some way the discussion around piracy is a mirror of that, totally neglecting the idea that people who make stuff deserve to be treated fairly. On the other hand, it's totally okay to be talking about public domain. I mean, the public has a right to their cultural heritage. I've tried to create the space for a middle ground, rather than having two sides of the debate on opposite poles screaming at each other. Maybe people from all parts of the industry can get together and create a way forward.”

Ruen's provisional solution is something he calls 'fairloading': a creative amalgamation of elements including admitting that piracy is probably unstoppable, stronger recognition of the rights of independent creators, copyright law reform and several other components, all of which amount to a tentatively workable paradigm. Despite this, Ruen himself would be the last person to claim he has all the answers.

“It's a huge challenge. It's not just about music, and it's not just about movies. It's not just about content. This is about who we are as human beings, and that kind of stuff is never easy. Having said that, I think we're in an extraordinarily privileged position today to be the people who are tasked with working all this stuff out. Hopefully, we do a decent job of it.”