Freeloading: How Our Insatiable Hunger for Free Content Starves Creativity

Internet piracy: It’s an eternal battle pitting indies versus corporations, free spirits against the money-grubbing Scrooge McDucks of the world.

Right?

Sort of, sometimes-maybe not. Freeloading takes a critical, cool look at a near-pervasive phenomenon that involves almost everyone who taps a keyboard: Beyond that, it''s a reminder of the truism that for every action there are consequences. What happens when we pirate a favorite work of art-a song, book, or movie? And as importantly: What, if anything, can or should be done about it?

Internet piracy has created unlikely allies. On the one hand, there are original creators of content, including artists and corporate copyright holders-on the other, legions of free-spirited consumers who see themselves in the hacker/OWS tradition.

Author Chris Ruen, himself a former dedicated freeloader, came to understand how illegal downloads can threaten an entire artistic community after spending time with successful Brooklyn bands who had yet to make a significant profit on their popular music. The product of innumerable late-night, caffeine-fueled conversations and interviews with contemporary musicians such as Craig Finn of The Hold Steady, Ira Wolf Tuton of Yeasayer, and Kyp Malone of TV on the Radio, Freeloading not only dissects this ongoing battle-casting a critical eye on the famous SOPA protests and the attendant rhetoric-but proposes concise, practical solutions that would provide protection to artists and consumers alike.