Digital Technology and Cultural Goods

THIS ARTICLE examines the implications of the Internet for the ownership, distribution and consumption of cultural and expressive goods, broadly defined.1 By this I mean literature, music, visual and performance arts, libraries, archives, and the like. The growth of the Internet has affected many areas of life besides this one, of course. It has allowed the growth of new ways to associate with others, new ways to work and do business, new ways to be politically active, amongst many others.2 So why focus on cultural goods? It turns out that one of the main attractions of the Internet to ordinary users is its ability to deliver content over the network quickly and at zero cost. Literature, images of all kinds and archival materials are accessible to anyone with a network connection. Music is also easy to come by, and has been the most controversial (and popular) kind of cultural good exchanged so far. Video is available to those who—like many college students—have a lot of bandwidth and the knowledge to use it. In each case, however, the Internet’s technical capacity to move these goods around does not mesh easily with established legal practice, government policy or commercial interests. For many interested parties, the Internet’s most distinctive characteristic is a bug, not a feature. This makes cultural goods interesting and important. Being able to search for and freely download a novel, a few hours of music, or an entire film is both immediately appealing to many people and completely incompatible with how many corporations and artists now make their money. Although the Internet’s effects are manifold, it is in the sphere of cultural goods that digital technology is putting the most pressure on established ways of doing things. Given the new possibilities, we want to know how literature, music and film will be produced and made available to people. Will people’s tastes change as their choices do?