Publishers Weekly
★ 08/01/2022
Melbourne Law School professor Giblin (Code Wars) and Boing Boing cofounder Doctorow (Information Doesn’t Want to Be Free) deliver a lucid and damning exposé of how big business captured the culture markets. Contending that anticompetitive practices are hollowing out the music, literature, video game, journalism, film, and TV industries, the authors untangle the complex web of contracts, regulations, and legal arguments deployed by corporations to maximize their profits and prevent new competitors from entering their markets. Interwoven with maddening tales of exploitation (the creator of the TV show Cold Case estimates that her agency, CAA, made 94 cents of every dollar she earned from the show) are detailed discussions of statutory licensing reform, copyright infringement detection systems, and other technical matters. The authors’ proposed solutions include granting creators “an inalienable right to ‘appropriate and proportionate’ pay for the use of their work,” and the creation of “a global, multi-language database with high quality metadata about who owns what sound recordings and songs in which countries.” The book’s broad scope, expert policy recommendations, and flashes of wit (Disney executives are “cartoon villains” for refusing to honor science fiction writer Alan Dean Foster’s contracts) make it a must-read for anyone involved in these industries. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
[Giblin and Doctorow] deliver a lucid and damning exposé of how big business captured the culture markets.”
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
“Giblin and Doctorow make a convincing case that taking on Big Tech and Big Content—seemingly a lonely and demoralizing endeavor—is, in fact, an opportunity for community.”
—The Atlantic
“Provocative . . . What makes this book so refreshing is that it never lets its reader off the hook. The authors remind us, repeatedly, that our ignorance is being weaponised against us. If we don’t understand how big business established its chokehold over us, how will we ever be able to wriggle free of its grip?”
—The Guardian
“Nerdy, sharp, radical and readable.”
—The Financial Times
“A searing and comprehensive take on the oligopolies that control creative markets, from publishing to music distribution to film distribution.”
—Alta
“Chokepoint Capitalism is the book we need now. Comprehensive and accessible, stirring and enlightening, it is a roadmap for taking immediate action against the corporate chokepoints that are crushing our creative workers and, increasingly, the rest of the middle class as well.”
—The Progressive
“Chokepoint Capitalism is a wake-up call. The emphasis it places on the need for a collective response to chokepoint capitalism gives the book its radical edge.”
—The Conversation
“Totally readable.”
—The Spinoff
“This book is an absolute must-read for anyone who senses that the predominant economic mythology is a lie . . . and who is ready to finally start fixing the problem.”
—David Sirota, writer of Don’t Look Up
“Chokepoint Capitalism tells us how the vampires crashed the party and provides protective garlic.”
—Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid’s Tale
“Searing, essential, and incredibly readable.”
—Adam Conover, comedian and host of The G-Word
“An urgent, profound, and approachable take on what it’s going to take to save our culture. If you care about books, movies, or music, read this book right now. And share a copy with a friend.”
—Seth Godin, author of The Practice
“Chokepoint Capitalism is a Why We Fight for a long-overdue uprising.”
—Kaiser Kuo, host and cofounder of The Sinica Podcast
“Giblin and Doctorow persuasively argue that copyright can’t unrig a rigged market—for that, you need worker power, antitrust, and solidarity.”
—Jimmy Wales, cofounder of Wikipedia
“I loved this book. . . . It helps us all see the locks and chains and the ways to chisel through them.”
—Zephyr Teachout, author of Break ’Em Up
“Brilliant and wide-ranging.”
—Lawrence Lessig, Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership, Harvard Law School
“Every creator will find inspiration here.”
—Anil Dash, CEO of Glitch
“Capitalism doesn’t work without competition. Giblin and Doctorow impressively show the extent to which that’s been lost throughout the creative industries, and how this pattern threatens every other worker.”
—Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist
“A tome for the times . . . The revolution will not be spotified!”
—Christopher Coe, artist and cofounder of Awesome Soundwave
“Chokepoint Capitalism couples its legal-economic critique with provocative, sometimes utopian, prescriptions for fairly remunerating authors and performers.”
—Jane C. Ginsburg, Morton L. Janklow Professor of Literary and Artistic Property Law, Columbia University School of Law
“If you have ever wondered why the web feels increasingly stale, Chokepoint Capitalism outlines in great detail how it is being denied fresh air.”
—Mat Dryhurst, artist and researcher, NYU’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music
“Chokepoint Capitalism is more than a clarion call for a new, necessary form of trustbusting. It’s a grand unified theory of a decades-long, corporate-led hollowing out of creative culture.”
—Andy Greenberg, writer for WIRED and author of Sandworm and Tracers in the Dark
“Not just a fascinating tour of the hidden mechanics of the platform era, from Spotify playlists to Prince’s name change, but a compelling agenda to break Big Tech’s hold.”
—Eli Pariser, author of The Filter Bubble and cofounder of Avaaz
“A masterwork . . . It’s a necessary read for any artist in the entertainment industry.”
—David A. Goodman, writer, executive producer of The Orville, and former president of the WGA West
“An infuriating yet inspiring call to collective action.”
—Douglas Rushkoff, author of Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus and Survival of the Richest
