Media Piracy In The Cultural Economy
by Gavin C. Mueller /
2019 / English / PDF
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This book situates media piracy as a symptom of a much larger restructuring of cultural labor in the era of the internet: labor that is digital, entrepreneurial, informal and even illegal, and increasingly politicized. Media piracy the production, distribution and consumption of media texts in violation of intellectual property laws has become an endemic feature of the cultural economy since the rise of the internet. While most analyses present piracy either in terms of moral or legal failings, or alternatively, the inevitable by-product of digital technologies, this booksituates piracy as a symptom of a much larger restructuring of cultural labor in the era of the internet: labor that is digital, entrepreneurial, informal and even illegal, and increasingly politicized. Sketching the contours of this new political economy while engaging with theories of digital media, both critical and celebratory, Mueller reveals piracy as a submerged social history of the digital world, and potentially the key to its political reimagining. This important and concise contribution to studies of piracy and digital culture will be vital reading for scholars and students of critical media studies, cultural studies, political theory or digital humanities, and particularly those researching media piracy, digital labour and Marxist theory. It also provides an excellent introduction to theories of the digital economy ged social history of the digital world, and potentially the key to its political reimagining. This important and concise contribution to studies of piracy and digital culture will be vital reading for scholars and students of critical media studies, cultural studies, political theory or digital humanities, and particularly those researching media piracy, digital labour and Marxist theory. It also provides an excellent introduction to theories of the digital economy
