The Pirate's Dilemma

Matt Mason talked about his book The Pirate’s Dilemma: How Youth Culture Is Reinventing Capitalism (Free Press; January 8, 2008). In his book he argues that youth culture is improving capitalism, by introducing significant innovations in business and in the technology and communications industries. As examples he describes the influence of hip-hop on consumer fashions and the influence of illegal music piracy on how information is shared electronically. His remarks focused on the concept of piracy of intellectual property and the strategy of learning from the creativity of the pirates. He recommended competing with them by selling aspects that they could not such as ease and authenticity. Mr. Mason showed slides throughout his presentation and then responded to questions from members of the audience.

Matt Mason is a writer, consultant, and entrepreneur. He was the founding editor in chief of RWD, an urban music magazine and website. close