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The Internet is sometimes seen as a great utopian tool that will make our lives easier. Other times, though, it is seen as a sinister force that will wreak havoc on our lives. In “Free Ride,” we have a book that embraces the position that the Internet is more of a curse than a cure for humanity’s problems.

The book’s argument is made clear by its less-than-subtle subtitle “How the Internet is Destroying the Culture Business.” This leaves little doubt about the attitude of the author, Robert Levine, who has worked as an executive editor at Billboard magazine.

The Internet has adversely affected magazines in the same way that it has drastically altered the way people access recorded music. At the heart of Levine’s argument is that the protection of creativity has been undermined by the rise of the Internet.

A particular culprit in undermining copyright protection is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. That act, Levine says, created a “safe harbor [which] made it easier for the likes of YouTube to become valuable forums for amateur creativity. But it also let them build big businesses out of professional content they didn’t pay for.”

This, it would seem, is really at the crux of the problem here. The author refers to the “culture business.” It is worth trying to define what is actually meant by that, as it is not after all a common expression. Any business is ultimately about making money, and “culture” is not automatically associated with fiscal reward.

Culture is what defines us as human beings; it is not always about making money. This author, though, is most concerned about who makes money from creativity and seems terribly offended that there are many people who are, and who have been for some years, getting something for nothing.

Creativity should be rewarded, and intellectual and artistic property rights must be respected, but one cannot help but get the sense that this is all a lot of sour grapes. Is this really about the danger that the Internet is destroying creativity, or is it about who makes a profit from it?

It is widely recognized that the music industry exacted huge profits from both consumers and its artists. The breakdown of the price of a new compact disc always showed substantial rewards for the industry. In addition, it was relatively slow to set aside its physical formats, such as compact discs, in favor of cyberspace delivery and sales.

Just as vinyl records and cassette tapes have disappeared, compact discs are falling by the wayside as digital trumps all. Levine writes, “It is time to ask, seriously, whether the culture business as we know it can survive the digital age.” But this really seems like something of a non-question. All industries and businesses have to adapt, so it is less a question of survival and more one of adapting to new circumstances.

To talk of a business “as we know it” is to suggest a state of limbo that is neither realistic nor useful. It seems that the author feels that the “culture industry” has had to contend with, even fight against, the attacks of technology companies. The author sees Silicon Valley as the enemy of the “culture business.” Companies like Google and Apple have lobbied hard to keep copyright laws at bay.

This, in turn, meant that they were paving the way for the kind of ripping and burning of music that allows for easy downloading. The sale of such devices has been a huge business, as has Internet piracy. In this book, he cites a report from 2010 that suggests that as much as 25 percent of all Internet activity is related to piracy.

No one would condone piracy, but the suggestion that the Internet is destroying culture seems overblown. It may be forcing a change in the way things are done and how people profit from creativity, but it seems far-fetched to assert that it is killing culture.

For example, it is widely believed that more people are writing and reading thanks to the Internet. Amateurs become writers through the ease of reaching audiences through blogging. The publishing industry has seen increased sales of books because of ebooks.

The Internet is powerful. But is it a force for good or bad? That is largely up to us and how we choose to adapt and use it. A friend of mine used to say that his father hated radio and could not wait for television to be invented so he could hate that, too. Perhaps there are those that hate the Internet in a similar way. They will have to either get used to it or be consigned to the past.

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Published by Bodley Head Adults, 2011
320 pages