Free Culture?

Since taking a course in adult learning over the summer, I pay careful attention to areas of the curriculum that I resist. In light of transformational learning, these points of resistance can actually indicate a disorienting dilemma. This dilemma, often characterized by an argumentative mindset, provides the necessary tension to move forward by challenging habits of mind and creating new understanding (Merriam et al., 2007).
All of this to say that a point of resistance for me in this course has been the concept of free culture. It's not that I don't believe that everyone should have the right to experience the power of art, it's just that I grew up respecting the artist's work. My mom is an artist, and my dad a strong supporter of the arts. We paid for art because we could, and hopefully that money would support the artist and any efforts s/he made to offer their art freely to disadvantaged groups. However, after listening to Jesse Hirsh talk and conversing in a small group in last week's class, I am beginning to wonder if I my views might be outdated. I decided to explore a little further, as research is one of the ways I get beyond resistance.
First, I went to a website called www.freeculture.org and found this video:

Brighter from SPARC on Vimeo.

I thought it cleverly illustrated what free access to information can achieve. The website seems dedicated to exploring the concept of Open Access Universities. They have a conference in 2010 in Washington, D.C.
In my search, I also came across a book titled Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig. Of course, you can get the pdf version for free here, but you can also purchase the book on Amazon, for those who like to pay for art. This book seems to tackle the issue of free art more directly. It's author, a Standford law professor, examines how new copyright laws threaten to stifle the creative potential of the internet. Jesse Hirsh touches on this concept in his latest blog entry titled 'Resisting Internet Orthodoxy.' It's timely that I would refer to Jesse's blog, as his talk to our class provided my first point of resistance, within this course, to the idea of free culture.
I still haven't kicked my belief that if all art is free, artists may become an extinct species. However, by encouraging inquiry into the subject, I am beginning to feel more able to make an informed opinion. No doubt, it will be a topic that becomes more prevalent. I do believe in equitable access to education, and isn't art not one of the oldest forms of knowing, whether through picture, storytelling, music or dance?
On the CBC this week, they talked about the crackdown of Microsoft on Xbox 360 users who had 'tweaked' their consoles to access free online games. The company banned nearly 1 million of their 20 million online gamers. These modded consoles then flood ebay, where buyers are being warned to be careful not to purchase banned consoles. In a situation such as this, I wonder which side I am on. Doesn't Microsoft make enough money? Will banning 1/20 of their online gaming demographic hurt or strengthen their brand identity? Shouldn't these gamers pay like everyone else? As you can see, the issue of copyright in the internet age seems to elicit more questions than answers. If you have any answers, or perhaps more questions, I'd love to know what you think.