I read this a couple times to be sure and as much as I agree with the general sentiment, I don't think this is valid in regards to art.

I've got a theatre degree along with my software degree. I've been acting, on and off, for over 20 years now.

Art isn't going anywhere. The availability of art isn't diminishing. There are still paintings that are tens of thousands of dollars in galleries. There are still plays that are hundreds of dollars to attend. There are still sculptures that take months and are commissioned for gobs of money. Video games and movies are still produced and rake in millions of dollars. There are still wanderers, dreamers, creators. People still make music, draw pictures, evoke Shakespeare, and dance, without needing to put a "value" on it or having anything to do with advertisements. My last visit to the Louvre was far more packed than my visit 5 years prior.

From what I can tell, the writer is confusing products in an artistic medium, for art; songs created for the sake of sales, films created for the sake of sales, illustrations for the purpose of sales, paintings for mass consumption, and so on. Art has been around for thousands of years of human civilization. Art is an inspiration for products. The value for art has always been in the eyes of the beholder. If someone is willing to pay $10,000 for a shoe in a frame, then that's the value of the art because it doesn't need to have any other value. The value for artistic products, which can be easily replicated, which can be easily disseminated, which can be easily procured, seems to be more in line with what the author is talking about.

Money and art have always had an interesting relationship but they are not as intertwined as this piece seems to want you to think.

Art is still safe as far as I know. Again, while I applaud the general mission that the statement is trying to make, I don't agree with it being about art, or being a problem with art.

To illustrate, I've taken the statements about art and replaced them with an appropriate version of product. It gets a bit more to the point and is, in my opinion, a more interesting and accurate piece.

> The rise of the digital age has had a very interesting effect on products. Products have become increasingly easier to replicate. ... The digital nature of media and the speed of transfer has done damage to the value that we once held for products.

> When we can easily download these products for free (sometimes illegally) their value is diminished. The audience begins to feel entitled to the product and the producer's efforts are taken for granted.

> It could be argued that modern techniques have lowered the amount of time and effort that is needed to create digital products, but should the value of a craft be placed on the hours spent creating it or on the captivation it provides the audience?

> At Rebil, we feel that the value of products are found in the latter. If a product can provoke thoughtfulness or provide enjoyment to the audience, then it has value.

> The ease of digital reproduction does not lessen the effects that products can have on the audience. Therefore, the value of a product should not be gauged by its accessibility. This is especially important in an age where everything is increasingly accessible.

> If we continue to value products based on the ease at which we can procure it, we will soon find ourselves in one of two possible futures.

> The first is a world where producers abandon their craft because they are no longer able to make a living. This future definitely hurts the quality of human life and the fulfillment and enlightenment that we gain from products.

> The second is a world where every product is an advertisement. Every video, every picture, every song is no longer the expression of the producer, but rather a vessel used to promote a product. Producers will lose their free expression in exchange for advertising space.

> We hope that a third world is what will emerge. We hope to reinstill the value that is being lost in digital products. We hope to combat the hijacking of products by advertising.

> We hope that you will join us.