? the degree to which their favorite counter-culture band embraced capitalism?
The latest Business Week offers the following assessment:
The Dead, one of the most profitable bands of all time, incorporated early on, complete with a board of directors. It established a lucrative merchandising division and took legal action against copyright violators. But it allowed fans to tape their shows, thereby sacrificing a potential revenue source. Writing in Wired magazine in 1994, the band’s lyricist, John Perry Barlow, noted that “the best way to raise demand for your product is to give it away.”
Profit? Incorporation? Legal action? Music as product? Aging “peace, love, dope” socialists everywhere must be wincing.
