Lone Wolf sends Cease & Desist letters to anyone using the term 'Army Builder'

[pemerton]

You need to go a long long way back in history to find a point when entertainment wasn't commercialized.

I think this in part depends on what you mean by "entertainment". Most leisure and/or "cultural consumption" in a pre-industrial village doesn't have a very significant, if any, commercial component. Even when there is payment to performers, the cultural product itself is typically not a highly commercialised matter.

In contrast to that, almost every moment of leisure or "cultural consumption" in a contemporary industrial society is overwhelmingly commercial both as far as the cultural product is concerned, and the means whereby it is acquired for consumption: TV, cinema, books, music, posting on D&D websites, etc.

 

[Krensky]

I think this in part depends on what you mean by "entertainment". Most leisure and/or "cultural consumption" in a pre-industrial village doesn't have a very significant, if any, commercial component. Even when there is payment to performers, the cultural product itself is typically not a highly commercialised matter.

In contrast to that, almost every moment of leisure or "cultural consumption" in a contemporary industrial society is overwhelmingly commercial both as far as the cultural product is concerned, and the means whereby it is acquired for consumption: TV, cinema, books, music, posting on D&D websites, etc.

So no one paid for books? For sheet music? For instruments? No one purchased tickets to the carnival or the circus or fair or the traveling theater troupe? No one supported the local preacher via tithe or charity? No one went to baseball games (or cricket, rounder, etc) or bought equipment for such?

I think you're romanticizing the preindustrial a bit much here.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

So no one paid for books? For sheet music? For instruments? No one purchased tickets to the carnival or the circus or fair or the traveling theater troupe? No one supported the local preacher via tithe or charity? No one went to baseball games (or cricket, rounder, etc) or bought equipment for such?

I think you're romanticizing the preindustrial a bit much here.

In many cases no, they could not afford to. Some sheet music and books were sold as were ticket to travelling predormances but that was relatively rare outside towns and even so the majority did not go at least until the 19th century.
As for sports, in many cases people made the stuff them selves or cricket was sponsored by the local nobleman who retained workmen specifically for their skill at cricket (the players) and the rest were made up of his other aristocratic buddies (the gentlemen).
Resources were consumed but it was not commercial as currently understood at least not all of it.
A lot of the peasant economy was an exhcange of labour not coin at least in Ireland where aspects of it survived until the mid twentieth century.

 

[pawsplay]

In many cases no, they could not afford to. Some sheet music and books were sold as were ticket to travelling predormances but that was relatively rare outside towns and even so the majority did not go at least until the 19th century.
As for sports, in many cases people made the stuff them selves or cricket was sponsored by the local nobleman who retained workmen specifically for their skill at cricket (the players) and the rest were made up of his other aristocratic buddies (the gentlemen).
Resources were consumed but it was not commercial as currently understood at least not all of it.
A lot of the peasant economy was an exhcange of labour not coin at least in Ireland where aspects of it survived until the mid twentieth century.

Having a fair day and taking a day off from plowing to play music and dance is still economic activity.

 

[Mark Chance]

All I can think is that right away bad publicity might be best handled with humility rather than yawping about legal rights and responsibilities because, as usual, it's difficult to explain legal issues in a definite but easy-to-understand manner regardless of how careful one is.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Having a fair day and taking a day off from plowing to play music and dance is still economic activity.

Maybe so but no money changes hands or anything else except alcohol
and that only on special occasions. In the abasence of TV, radio or recorded music people had to entertain themselves and the musicians and singers usually got noting in return other than ego boo.

Though a fair day was all about buying and selling produce, time off for music was in the evenings after work and only an all day event at wedding and wakes and festival days.

 

[Krensky]

So, really the answer comes down to:

The phonograph and radio revolotionized distribution of audio, and the train and car revolutionized distribution of the printed word, combined with the general increase in leisure time and disposable income from industrialization made everyone a 'town dweller' for entertainment.

Honestly, you guys are missing the forest for the trees. Entertainment has always been about filthy lucre. Well, filthy calories at the least. Those who could afford to do so, paid for entertainment, those who couldn't entertained themselves.

 

[S'mon]

Having a fair day and taking a day off from plowing to play music and dance is still economic activity.

It has an economic impact but it's not commercial activity if no buying, selling or payment is involved.

 

[S'mon]

S'Mon might have better expertise as what can be blocked as to a fictional character when copyright expires.

What you're saying (esp Pawsplay) re copyright vs TM looks right to me. I remember giving a talk about 13-14 years ago at the British Library to BLACA - about - decrying the use of TMs to prevent use of out-of-copyright works (like Tarzan), back when this was cutting edge stuff. Heck, I probably gave some IP lawyers some evil ideas!

 

[S'mon]

BTW I wouldn't count bulletin board discussions, blogs, facebook, PBEM games, amateur Youtube movies etc as commercialised product, despite the commercial medium - IMO such 'user generated content' is much closer to being 'folk art'. I think there's a reasonable case that many people today are *much* less dependent on commercial entertainment than, say, 20 years ago.