“The ultimate cost reduction is eliminating atoms entirely and dealing only in bits. Pure digital aggregators store their inventory on hard drives and deliver it via broadband pipes. The marginal cost of manufacturing, shelving, and distribution is close to zero, and royalties are paid only when the goods are sold. It’s the ultimate on-demand market: Because the goods are digital, they can be cloned and delivered as many times as needed, from zero to billions. A best-seller and a never-seller are just two entries in a database; equal in the eyes of technology and the economics of storage.”

– Chris Anderson, The Long Tail: Why The Future Of Business Is Selling Less Of More, 2006

“This is the world of ‘peer production,’ the extraordinary Internet-enabled phenomenon of mass volunteerism and amateurism. We are at the dawn of an age where most producers in any domain are unpaid, and the main difference between them and their professional counterparts is simply the (shrinking) gap in the resources available to them to extend the ambition of their work. When the tools of production are available to everyone, everyone becomes a producer.”

– Chris Anderson, The Long Tail: Why The Future Of Business Is Selling Less Of More, 2006

“I think records were just a little bubble through time and those who made a living from them for a while were lucky. There is no reason why anyone should have made so much money from selling records except that everything was right for this period of time. I always knew it would run out sooner or later. It couldn’t last, and now it’s running out. I don’t particularly care that it is and like the way things are going. The record age was just a blip. It was a bit like if you had a source of whale blubber in the 1840s and it could be used as fuel. Before gas came along, if you traded in whale blubber, you were the richest man on Earth. Then gas came along and you’d be stuck with your whale blubber. Sorry mate–history’s moving along. Recorded music equals whale blubber. Eventually, something else will replace it.”

– Brian Eno, in an interview with The Guardian, 2010

Also worth a read: Dr Pangloss in Prospect Magazine.

“I think that my concept can fit with every culture because it draws inspiration and direction from a time of humanity when, no matter where you went, people were in touch with the Earth and the spirits of nature, the sun and the Moon, and all of the elements… and so, we’re delving to the same place and trying to bring the same thing forth–but with the technology of the 21st century, and in a way to appeal to the youth of the 21st century… so, I think that it fits.”

– Goa Gil, sampled by Alien Mental in “An Awakening” from the album Mind Hack, 2007

“Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is nonexistent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery—celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: ‘It’s not where you take things from—it’s where you take them to.’”
– Jim Jarmusch, Golden Rules, 2004

Like the quotation? Check out Mark Malazarte’s Creative Commons-licensed poster.