Information Doesn't Want to Be Free
by Cory Doctorow · first published 2014
75% recommend17% neutral8% critical
Why HN recommends it
Short, readable account of copyright, DRM, and publishing in the internet age, aimed at aspiring artists and creators but useful to general readers interested in encryption and free speech.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Information Doesn't Want to Be Free takes on the state of copyright and creative success in the digital age. Can small artists still thrive in the Internet era? Can giant record labels avoid alienating their audiences? This is a book about the pitfalls and the opportunities that creative industries (and individuals) are confronting today -- about how the old models have failed or found new footing, and about what might soon replace them. Information Doesn't Want to Be Free offers a guide to the ways creativity and the Internet interact today, and to what might be coming next.
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…physical sculpture. My gut is that artists should figure out how to embrace reproducibility, but how that will play out with sculpture is unclear to me. I highly recommend Cory Doctorow's quick read "Information Doesn't Want to be Free" and particularly his metaphor of the dandelion vs mammals for what I think is the right general direction for artists in an age of instant reproducibility.
on “Art Has Value” ↗…since the start of covid. It is not just Spotify, none of the streaming fremium music subscription services provide me an effective way to support the artists I like. Cory Doctorow points the way in Information Doesn’t Want to Be Free talking about future models for artists to make a living. It might superficially seem like the Spotify CEO is saying the same things but this is just cover for the gatekeepers to keep an unconscionable…
on “Spotify CEO: musicians can no longer release music only “once every 3-4 years”” ↗Cory Doctorow also put together a well-written account of his views in the recently published "Information Doesn't Want to Be Free: Laws for the Internet Age." He covers DRM, copyright, publishing, the music industry, etc. The book's target is aspiring artists, but the general audience will find it valuable as well.
on “Why my book can be downloaded for free” ↗My personal favourite: 'Information doesn't want to be free' by Cory Doctorow https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20763766-information-doe...
on “Notable Books of 2014” ↗Cody Doctorow's Information Doesn't Want to Be Free is a good read about this. https://archive.org/details/InformationDoesntWantToBeFree
on “We've failed: open access is winning and we must change our approach” ↗…about anything anywhere and yeah older people also talk about products they use and how good they are. They actually talk about it more than younger people. I recommend you a great book by Cory Doctorow "Information doesn't want to be free" you can buy or download it.
on “Facebook is trying to register BOOK as trademark in Europe” ↗I'd recommend Cory's latest book: "Information doesn't want to be free" where he addresses the problems presented by DRM and other copyright issues. It's a short read but hugely valuable for folks creating digital content. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00R4ZJTMO?btkr=1
on “Cory Doctorow Rejoins EFF to Eradicate DRM Everywhere” ↗I recently finished "Information Doesn't want to be Free" and would highly recommend it as informed and well reasoned commentary on topics like this. Cory Doctrow puts into words the vague hand wavy feelings I have when we start talking about encryption, copyright,…
on “White House weighs encryption crackdown” ↗For anybody interested in a comprehensive overview of copyright in the internet age, I can highly recommend the book "Information doesn't want to be free"
on “Sylvie Forbin, lobbyist for Vivendi, is new head of copyright at WIPO” ↗…is an alien species that humans have trouble understanding for whatever reason Books I unrecommend: Heretics of Dune - Ugh. Tedious. I actually couldn't finish it. Didn't start Chapterhouse either. Information Doesn't Want to be Free - Pretty basic. How many footnotes do you really need before you just include them in the text? Was on maternity leave this year so there are quite a few. Those marked * are also recommended. Guns…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?” ↗There's a short sci-fi story (whose name escapes me, but is mentioned in Cory Doctorow's Information Doesn't Want to be Free) in which the human race is given matter duplicators that can perfectly copy an item, including the duplicators themselves. It's basically a more fully-explored version of the "what if I can copy a car"…
on “Funkwhale – Decentralized, self-hosted music server” ↗This is an excerpt from his new book; the article headline is the book's title. I agree this is not a good title for this excerpt. Later his argument goes "Information doesn't want to be free--people do" and this story is just one bit of supporting evidence.
on “Cory Doctorow: Information Doesn’t Want to Be Free” ↗