Re: <nettime> Oz's talking about Luther Blissett

[Luther Blissett Project Newz <luther@syntac.net>]

At 15.20 23/11/99 EST, Mnherman wrote:

>In a message dated 11/23/1999 9:43:05 AM Central Standard Time, 
>luther@syntac.net writes:
>
>> >are you against the idea of an artist making money from their work?  


Actually, I *do* make a living out of anti-copyright stuff. 

Luther Blissett's books have always been anti-copyright, they can be
copied and re-manipulated, not only self-publications, also works offered,
nay, *imposed* to major publishers. The main reason why we achieved this
is the fame and reputation LB mobsters conquered after years of
communication guerrilla. 

This doesn't prevent the people who put the works together (call us
"authors", if you can't help using this term) from gaining their
percentage each time someone purchases a copy. Most of the texts we have
published in Italy are also downloadable from the Net, and yet people've
kept buying them in bookstores, maybe because the book format still has
its fans.

In this way, we are hardly going to be millionaires, but we *do* make
money, pay rent and bills, eat twice a day, buy stuff, travel around. I
even have an agent! 

Get rid of all false dichotomies, the objections taken by greedy
net-artists after the rise of 0100101010101010-style art theft make no
sense at all.

When we got the novel *Q* bought by a big Italian publisher, we started a
hard struggle with their legal representatives - they said there was no
way they could waive copyright on the book - after months of negotiation,
we found a good compromise - now the novel can be copied, put into
electronic circulation, partially re-written etc. by readers, on the
condition their purpose isn't strictly commercial, whereas movie and TV
producers, as well as other corporate publishers, must pay through their
noses to buy the rights. I think this is a good precedent to start from
and head into the second phase of the copyright wars. Why should
anti-copyright ignore the class issue?


LB


<http://www.syntac.net/lutherblissett>
A clear, thorough LB primer - English

<http://www.LutherBlissett.net>
The (in)Complete Archives 1994-99 - Italian/English

<http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Leftbank/6815>
Luther Blissett and the "Huelga de Arte"(Art strike 2000-2001) - Spanish

<http://www.contrast.org/kg>
Luther Blissett and Kommunikationsguerilla - German


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