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A review by aebrossbooks
Chokepoint Capitalism: How Big Tech and Big Content Captured Creative Labor Markets and How We'll Win Them Back by Cory Doctorow, Rebecca Giblin
challenging
informative
slow-paced
3.75
"Chokepoint Capitalism" by Rebecca Giblin and Cory Doctorow is a harsh look at the reality of the hold that huge corporations like Amazon, Spotify, and Disney have on the "free market" as a whole. Spoiler alert: The free market isn't free. Far from it.
The first half of the book outlines, in great and depressing detail, the depths at which many giants of industry have control over what does and doesn't get seen, heard, purchased, or watched by consumers at large. It is a sometimes depressing demonstration of how we got where we are and the trouble that it poses to ever righting the ship, so to speak, and getting a fairer deal for artists, writers, musicians, and really any part of the working class beholden to these multibillion dollar corporations.
The second half of the book goes into detail on ways that the stranglehold these companies have on the industries they dominate can be broken. Ideas like collective action and radical interoperability have the potential to pave the way towards a fairer and more equitable system. Of course, it isn't going to be easy. Far from it. Still, there are some options.
I'm not going to lie, this book could have been shorter. Don't get me wrong, it is an important read and very informative but the authors go the extra mile to prove to you their case, unfortunately often making the book drag and feel repetitive. I listened to it at 1.85x speed and still felt impatient. Also, the narrator's voice was a lower tone, and because of it, I often had difficulty understanding what was being said (that's more on my auditory processing issues than anything else, though).
Overall I would definitely recommend this read. It's IMPORTANT and I think an excellent way to educate oneself on the evils that have been perpetrated all in the name of stealing labor from the working class. Just be aware that you can more than likely skim a bit if it starts to feel a bit repetitive, and still get a good grasp on what the book is conveying.
The first half of the book outlines, in great and depressing detail, the depths at which many giants of industry have control over what does and doesn't get seen, heard, purchased, or watched by consumers at large. It is a sometimes depressing demonstration of how we got where we are and the trouble that it poses to ever righting the ship, so to speak, and getting a fairer deal for artists, writers, musicians, and really any part of the working class beholden to these multibillion dollar corporations.
The second half of the book goes into detail on ways that the stranglehold these companies have on the industries they dominate can be broken. Ideas like collective action and radical interoperability have the potential to pave the way towards a fairer and more equitable system. Of course, it isn't going to be easy. Far from it. Still, there are some options.
I'm not going to lie, this book could have been shorter. Don't get me wrong, it is an important read and very informative but the authors go the extra mile to prove to you their case, unfortunately often making the book drag and feel repetitive. I listened to it at 1.85x speed and still felt impatient. Also, the narrator's voice was a lower tone, and because of it, I often had difficulty understanding what was being said (that's more on my auditory processing issues than anything else, though).
Overall I would definitely recommend this read. It's IMPORTANT and I think an excellent way to educate oneself on the evils that have been perpetrated all in the name of stealing labor from the working class. Just be aware that you can more than likely skim a bit if it starts to feel a bit repetitive, and still get a good grasp on what the book is conveying.