Steal This Blog Post
Joshua Fields MillburnIn 1998, Oakland-based hip-hop group The Coup released their third album, titled Steal This Album.[1] Its Compact Disc’s cover featured the duo trapped behind the bars of a computer-enhanced barcode, the two men ostensibly attempting to escape the tyranny of copyright.
As far has 90’s West Coast rap music goes (viz. Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, E-40, Ras Kass, et al.), Steal This Album was a fairly unremarkable effort. But its title still interests me today, 15 years later, because it seems to be the perfect synecdoche for copyright in the digital age, and in one swift proclamation it pretty much captures my general feelings toward DRM (digital rights management).
As writers, artists, and creative types, many of us gravitate naturally toward copyright, toward don’t steal my words, toward I want full control, toward me me me—this is my work damnit!
But why?
Perhaps, first, we should ask ourselves a simple question: why do we create? That is, why do we write or paint or embark on any creative journey? The answer (for me at least) is: I write to be read; I write to express my worldview and to communicate with others.
Why, then, would I want to stifle my ability to express myself, to asphyxiate my means of communication by extraneous copyright protection? Is it because I think that strict copyrights are the only way to make money? Or because I think everyone should get an even playing field? Or because I’m a meany-face who thinks people are thieves and I want only people who can afford to pay cold hard cash to buy my books, classes, etc.?
Don’t be silly. I want to communicate with as many open-minded people as possible, and so I’m less worried about copyright in the digital age. Plus, there’s no such thing as an “even playing field,” not in the real world. We all have advantages and disadvantages, such is life.
That doesn’t mean I have to give away the farm; I needn’t make my whole catalog free. No, rather, it means that I own my copyright, and thus I have the right to do whatever I want with my copy. But if someone pirates my book and somehow gets 10 friends to read 10 digital copies, then aren’t they simply helping me accomplish my original objective: to express my worldview and to communicate with others.
Besides, I know from first-hand authoritative experience that if people find value in my words, then they will, by and large, support my work. Just like I know I can download albums for free from BitTorrent, and yet I still pay for my music. And I know I can download ebooks for free, and yet I still pay for them. Plus, I go out of my way to support local/indie artists—to pay them and support their work. And so do many other people.
The difference, however, between DRM and, say, stealing an album in 1998, is that the latter involves an actual theft of actual goods. Stealing isn’t just illegal, it’s wrong, but sharing 0’s & 1’s with others is not stealing. If anything, it’s just unapproved sharing, which, hell, come to think of it, isn’t that how I established a large audience in the first place?[2]
So go ahead: steal this blog post, steal my ebooks, steal my Twitter feed and re-publish it. Have fun. And if you find value, please tell a friend. Thanks for spreading the word.
And to those of you who support my work by paying for it, thank you. Y’all’re my favorites. I appreciate you.
Further reading and better-articulated expansion on this topic:
Zen Habits: Uncopyright Policy
Aaron Swartz: Copyright is Unconstitutional!
New York Times: The Slow Death of the American Author
[1] N.B. System of a Down released an album with the same name in 2002 (although they added an exclamation point: q.v. Steal This Album!).
[2] Likewise, it’s hardly a coincidence that Steal This Album is still The Coup’s best-selling album.