A shmoe must speak.

Okay, I've seen lots of stuff about Google Print. They basically want to scan the shit out of libraries worth of books and put it all online. I applaud this, in fact, they already have Mystics in their system because I sent it in at the very beginning of their project.

A lot of folks are pissing and moaning about the publishers and others losing their shit over this idea. It's because of piracy or it funds terrorism or greed or whatever excuse we have today. And a lot of authors are up in arms because they favor the idea because, at least in the case of most authors I'm aware of, they're not completely daft.

But here's what it boils down to. Let's take a step back and few the real question here.

The person who owns the copyright should have a say in what happens to their book. That's how it works. Ultimately, they get the final say. So if you're an author and you like the idea, go for it. I did. Because I have final say on all my work.

If you're an author and you somehow signed away your rights to a publisher, well, you have a problem, don't you? All the whining and pissing and moaning in the world isn't going to save you from the fact that you signed your rights away. Next time, you'll know better, won't you? Publishers don't give a shit about you, the author, or the people who read you, or even the people who would love to read you if they could just find you. They. Don't. Care. And if they own the rights, they don't have to care.

Now, don't misconstrue: I'm not saying that the publishers are right in being assholes about this. They're very much in the wrong. But that's Old Thinking. As Jeff Jarvis constantly points out on Buzz Machine, it's idiotic to think of content as a premium thing when anybody–and seriously, these days, anybody, look at me–can create content. So to hang on to content like Daffy Duck at the end of the "Hassan Chop!" cartoon is a sign of lunacy. But well within their rights.

So what am I saying? They're stupid, but they have the right to be stupid. And rather than bitch and moan about them being stupid, I say leave them hanging onto their own remaining pearl as the clam shuts around them. The future of music belongs to those people who will open themselves up to being mashed up and remixed and reused. The future of literature is the same way. And movies. And everything else, for that matter.

If you really want to affect change in how this is going, stop buying shit from people who won't play ball. The most sensible thing Boing Boing has had to say about this has been here, where they say to stop buying Sony CDs because they have a disastrous DRM toolkit on them.

That's it…there's plenty of bands out there who WANT to be heard who AREN'T slaves to some record label. Buy their shit. Same thing with writers, directors, the whole nine. Let the Old Thinking die out. Quit subsidizing it, for God's sake. And most importantly, stop whining about what other people are doing–stupid or not–with their content and MAKE YOUR OWN.