I've had a similar thought for years. How much media do we 'need'? A lifetimes' worth? Two? How about we just restart broadcasting from the beginning and repeat it all. It will seem new again, to new generations who weren't exposed the first time around.
It has a chilling effect on the current generations of artists, because we just don't need what they have to offer.
Well we do, we are still paying them after all. Part of creativity is that it is not one size fits all, and you can actually repeat the same thing with minimal changes and have it appear new again.
I'm just saying we can never have a creative economy because we already have a creative economy meeting all our creative demands, and that our ability to demand more creativity will only degrade over time as most people get poorer.
There will always be a market for new art, because not everything possible has been drawn yet, etc. Someone will always want something new, and now there are millions of artists at your fingertips to create it for you. The problem is a lot of them are already creating what they want for free to enjoy, and once you have whatever you want made, you have no more money to be spent on that industry.
"* How much media do we 'need'? A lifetimes' worth? Two? How about we just restart broadcasting from the beginning and repeat it all. It will seem new again, to new generations who weren't exposed the first time around.*"
That's classic rock. Any new rock musician is in competition with the best ones of the last half-century. Few will beat the best in the past.
When was the last time someone wrote a new symphony and made money from it?
If it weren't for copyright term extensions, all that would be public domain. In the countries which still have 50-year copyright, it is.
Yeah, that seems like a problem. I think one counterpoint is to consider mass vs. local media. Mass media is very much about consumption, while local media can be more about communities, the kind where people meet at a gallery or concert space, enjoy the show, and shoot the shit.
A lot of media isn't designed to last. I saw 'Snakes on a plane' it's a trash movie but I enjoyed it. I wouldn't watch it again but I'll go and see another trash movie soon I'm sure.
It has a chilling effect on the current generations of artists, because we just don't need what they have to offer.