The Pirate's Dilemma: How Youth Culture Is Reinventing Capitalism

It started with punk. Hip-hop, rave, graffiti, and gaming took it to another level, and now modern technology has made the ideas and innovations of youth culture increasingly intimate and increasingly global at the same time." "In The Pirate's Dilemma, VICE magazine's Matt Mason - poised to become the Malcolm Gladwell of the iPod Generation - brings the exuberance of a passionate music fan and the technological savvy of an IT wizard to the task of sorting through the changes brought about by the interface of pop culture and innovation. He charts the rise of various youth movements - from pirate radio to remix culture - and tracks their ripple effect throughout larger society." "With a cast of characters that includes such icons as the Ramones, Andy Warhol, Madonna, Russell Simmons, and 50 Cent - Mason uncovers the trends that have transformed counter cultural scenes into burgeoning global industries and movements, ultimately changing our way of life.

"Music journalist Mason, a former pirate radio and club DJ in London, explores how open source culture is changing the distribution and control of information and harnessing the 'old' system of 'punk capitalism' to new market conditions governing society. According to Mason, this movement's creators operate according to piratical tactics and are changing the very nature of our economy. He charts the rise of the ideas and social experiments behind these latter-day pirates, citing the work of academics, historians and innovators across a multitude of fields. He also explores contributions by visionaries like Andy Warhol, 50 Cent and Dr. Yuref Hamied, who was called a 'pirate and a thief' after producing anti-HIV drugs for Third World countries that cost as little as $1 a day to produce. Pirates, Mason states, sail uncharted waters where traditional rules don't apply. As a result, they offer great ways to service the public's best interests. According to Mason, how people, corporations and governments react to these changes is one of the most important economic and cultural questions of the 21st century. Well-written, entertaining and highly original, Mason offers a fascinating view of the revolutionary forces shaping the world as we know it." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

MATT MASON is an award-winning writer, consultant, and entrepreneur based in New York City. He was the founding editor in chief of the underground fanzine RWD, which he helped grow into the U.K.’s number one urban music magazine and one of the world’s leading urban music websites.

Intro: Enter the lollipop — Punk capitalism : from D.I.Y. to downloading sneakers — The Tao of pirates : sea forts, patent trolls, and why we need piracy — We invented the remix : cut-'n'-paste culture creates some new common ground — The art of war : street art, branding, and the battle for public space — Boundaries : disco nuns, the death of the record industry, and our open-source future — Real talk : how hip-hop makes billions and could bring about world peace — Ethernomics : pillow fights, happy slaps, and other memes that leave a mark — Outro: The pirates dilemma : changing the game theory.