Strong Opinions @marksbirch

dwellman:

Strong Opinions @marksbirch: Ownership and Middlemen in a Digital Age

After reading marksbirch’s post on Ownership and the Middle man I had a post emailed to me about that in short was how the middle man is being squeezed out of in the medical community with a bedside genetic test.  

The more that I look for opportunities to disrupt markets the more I see the middle man is the target for real disruption.  The strong armed middle man of music and entertainment industry or many layered middle men in medicine, insurance, and in finance are ideal target for startup disruption and epic transformation.

The entertainment industry is in dire straits.  When I think of middlemen and the legislation working through Congress, it becomes all too clear that the end game is near.  This is the last ditch effort by the movie studios, record companies, and other old line content industries to remain relevant in the marketplace.

Here is the cycle for incumbents to remain in business and crush the disruptors. First, they threaten, then they sue, then they get the government to regulate, and then they sit back and sip champagne while they revel in victory.  Note however they never actually compete or change or innovate.  That would hit the bottom line and require too much work.  It is much easier just to use the courts and armies of lobbyists to protect one’s interests.

That is exactly what we are seeing now with SOPA and PIPA bills as they wind themselves like snakes through the legislative process.  We have old line industries that have made billions of dollars in profit over many decades that realize they have nothing to sell if they lose control as middlemen.  While much of the rhetoric and hyperbole has been around “protecting the interests of artists”, you hear nary a word from artist clamoring for support of this legislation.  In fact, artists and artist managers are stating the exact opposite, standing in opposition to these bills which they fully realize constricts access to content and gives into the hands of industry overwhelming power.

The first way we can ensure innovation and vibrancy in the content industries is to defeat SOPA and PIPA.  This legislation is a blunt tool will have little effect in stopping piracy, but gives power to a few industry heavyweights to stifle anything that threatens to disrupt their gravy train.  If you love technology, love entertainment, or wish to develop technologies for the content industry, you should learn more and voice your opinion before it is too late.  We need to ensure art and content remains free from the shackles of middlemen and into the hands of the public.

I wanted to mention this before, but the thought escaped me in my original post on middlemen and disruption.  Thanks to David who reminded me of this point in his reblog!