Supply and demand is the basic economic concept students learn about in school. Remember the teacher drawing supply and demand graphs on the chalk board? Well, if you happened to fall asleep during class, all you really need to know is that supply and demand are intertwined and the concept is rooted deep into the American capitalistic culture. When there is an exchange of goods the laws of supply and demand almost always regulate the transaction.
Shoes are a basic item most people in the modern world choose to own. If you want to keep your feet dry, comfortable, and free of blisters then you need to obtain a pair of shoes. Before the Internet was invented, music was similar to shoes. When you wanted to listen to music you went to the store and bought the record. Music was a material item only available in a physical form "records, tapes and CDs. Therefore, music had a limited supply which correlated with the demand for the records. Furthermore, the music industry decided which artists they would sign to a label and what music was available to the public in stores. In order for an artist to generate demand for their music they first had to land a record contract with the music industry because the music industry controlled the distribution of all music available to the public. Musical artists now have an alternative way to expose themselves.
The Internet provides a new way for people to gather and share information in the form of web pages and other non-tangible digital files that is free of corporate and governmental control. The Internet's free and open exchange environment contradicts many of the modern day business principles. The Internet was designed and continues to run on a non-capitalistic, non-commercial, and non-profit foundation. The Internet does not utilize the basic business and economic principle of supply and demand. On the Internet there is only demand (Negativland 7).
