Sharing – a beautiful word, a wondrous concept. One of the definitions of the word share from dictionary.com - To accord a share in (something) to another or others: shared her chocolate bar with a friend. Filesharing is a beautiful sounding word too. To share that which you have acquired via the internet with untold thousands, perhaps millions. Such a fantastic idea.
The Day of Sharing is about expanding that concept, spreading the good feelings that come from sharing across all endeavors of life. On The Day of Sharing everything will be shared. Everybody should know the joy of sharing that musicians, lyricists, authors, photographers and artists of all stripes have been experiencing for years now. Even if just for one day, every thing you can think of will be as free as music has become. Walk into your favorite restaurant, order your favorite meal, eat it, and walk out. Be sure to thank the owner for sharing. Better yet, order it to-go and hand it to someone else as you leave. Pick up a candy bar at the convenience store, let the clerk know how much you enjoy it and tell him you will recommend it to others. Then walk out the door and share it with the homeless guy outside. Test drive a Ferrari and, if you like it, keep driving.
Filesharing has allowed the entire world to enjoy – without paying - the fruits of the labors of countless creators of intellectual property. Yet there are hundreds of huge corporations around the globe that profit from charging the public for the means to steal (fileshare) music. Those companies are not held responsible for their actions (or inactions, as the case may be). The recording industry has been absolutely decimated as a result. Singers, engineers, songwriters, producers, trombonists, you name it – they have all had their livelihoods snatched from them by the seeming largesse of the telecom/internet industry and the disinterest and tacit approval of governments around the world. It is quite possible to share the massive profits of those industries with the creators of music – even easy to do – but for some reason those companies just don’t want to share. The Day of Sharing will encourage people to contact their legislators to insist on righting this injustice.
The number one and number two profitable exports of the United States are arms (guns, tanks, fighters jets, bombs) and entertainment (movies, TV, music, sports). The weapons industry is doing fine – nobody has figured out how to reproduce and distribute millions of guns for free yet – but the entertainment industry is collapsing at a precipitous rate. The auto and banking industries have problems and our government bails them out with billions of dollars. The collapse of our auto industry, however, would look like a gentle summer rain compared to the cat 5 hurricane that will strike our nation’s economy if the entertainment industry continues on the path laid out in front of it by the internet industry. The good news is that the fix does not require a megabillion dollar bailout – just clear and supportive laws. Until that happens, The Day of Sharing will at least give those artists in need a glimmer of hope.
The best day for this heartwarming occasion will be Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. When we are all feeling the gratitude and love. When everybody is out shopping anyway. How wonderful it will be to pick up whatever gifts you need for your friends and family, gratis. So everybody, get ready for 11/27 2009 – The Day of Sharing!