The young people are wired 24/7, and already we are seeing newspapers, and print media disappearing. Like any business, artist, writers, musicians, and film makers will change the way they make money. Some day live concerts will be done in studios, and the audience will watch it on large screens in theaters or in parks. They still will have to buy a ticket, but a concert and being going on in several cities at the same time, and the money will still be coming in. Some day the artist will appear on stage as a hologram, to be part of the audience.

The internet even with the pirates has make millions for writes. A book can be printed online, and sold as an eBook at no cost to the writer, after he or she learns on to brand themselves online. They can get help for Internet Marketer to promote there book, if necessary. The can even do live book reading on the internet, and charge a viewing fee.

Artist after a showing at a gallery can sell prints of their painting online. Even an unknown artist can start showing their artwork to the world in seconds.

An artist, write and any creative person can get ready for the coming change by learning how to market on the internet.

We will always value the artist, if we don’t let them go the way of the newspapers

I grew up in the era before DRM and the iTunes store, never mind Napster or even CDs. And I never spent as much money on music as I did when I was a teenager. For me, after cashing my paycheck from my after school job every week meant a trip to the record store and buying two or three albums.

Young people are the biggest consumers of music, and if they won’t pay for music, the industry is in trouble no matter how polished the stores are.

And I really don’t care about the industry. I care about the artists. Because if they don’t get paid, they won’t make as much music. And that’s a loss.

By the way, I do agree with your desire for limited-term copyright. Having crazy long copyright terms hurts artists as well as consumers.

Besides, people will always pay to go see a movie (first TV, then Cable, were supposed to kill movie theaters too, remember?) or hold a physical book, at least until somebody develops an e-book reader as compelling as an iPod (Kindle, you are NOT it).

The one real positive thing about all of this, is we have lots of time to be creative and come up with a solution that will give us the ability to regain control of our futures and go out to eat again! Watch out!

I wish we could find a reasonable way to compensate people for their creativity. That should result in more of it.

This may work for musicians but has roadblocks in other avenues; how many people will pay for a bookreading?