The internet can be characterized by a lot of things, but I think the easiest characterization is crime. The internet has grown and flourished through the normalization of crime, and one of the most pivotal moments was the development of .mp3 distribution. Prior to the .mp3, creative work manifested in tangible objects: paintings, sculptures, records, tapes, film rolls, what have you. Those objects would require financial compensation for acquisition. The .mp3 file was an opportunity for society to answer the question of what is the true value of creativity when it is not tethered to the physical realm. Distracted by the excitement and novelty of new software, society answered that creativity has no value, and thus could be taken at will. Napster offered users a vehicle with which they could obtain what they found didn’t carry monetary value, a digital record of a musician’s work.

There was this nonsensical idea being pushed by internet enthusiasts backin the day that ‘information wants to be free’ as though information was self-aware and had desires. It was a cute jedi mind trick. The internet allowed for a transmission of data, and data and information are not a perfect one to one. This shared delusion allowed society an out to view data unhoused in material did not require financial compensation.

The success of the .mp3 file would lead to other data file formats that would continue this devaluing of creativity. Much like how the .mp3 file removed value from music, the .mp4 and .avi files removed value from film and television, and the .iso file removed value from games. Creative works got insanely easy to obtain at no cost through bit torrent and Megaupload and its like-minded competition. There were repeated opportunities to confirm, as a matter of principle, that creativity was truly worthless.

Intellectual property has lost its sense of property, and with it, its worth. With streaming replacing physical media, it’s hard to gauge overall value. You can just jump from one file to the next for a low, low price. Gone are the days of losing your shit on a bad purchase, like sad-laughing through the unironic absurdity of Avenged Sevenfold’s City of Evil as you roll out of Best Buy. There’s no more risk of spending $15-$20 on potentially hot garbage. Streaming is cheap, and if it’s not cheap enough, you can always prop your Jolly Roger and sail the high seas.

Soundtrack for the day on Spotify, 08042024:

1. She Wants To Move – N.E.R.D
2. Don’t Mess With My Man – Lucy Pearl
3. CUFF IT – Beyonce
4. Jupiter – Earth, Wind, and Fire
5. Duality – Slipknot
6. Dreamer – GANG PARADE
7. Nightmare (Sinister Strings Mix) – Brainbug
8. Why You Treat Me So Bad – Club Nouveau
9. Suddenly – Billy Ocean
10. Tonight, Tonight – The Smashing Pumpkins
11. Walk On By – Isaac Hayes
12. Roads – Portishead
13. Baltimore – Nina Simone
14. Three Little Birds – Bob Marley & The Wailers
15. Walk of Life – Dire Straits
16. 離れていても- WANIMA
17. 20 Eyes – Misfits
18. good 4 you – Olivia Rodrigo
19. Waiting Room – Fugazi
20. Luka – Suzanne Vega