The new face of media...

A couple of fine examples of artists (one actress/writer and one author) showing that the major networks do not need to result to strong-arm tactics when it comes to intellectual property:

Exhibit A - Harper Collins made American Gods by Neil Gaiman available for free. According to Mr. Gaiman this has resulted in a 300% increase in sales of a book that was published five years ago. For those of you reading this before March 31, 2008, the book can be found here.

Exhibit B - Webisodes (serially-produced content distributed on the web) has been gaining a foot hold in the minds of the public. Popularity of The Guild, penned by and starring Felicia Day of, has been climbing steadily since debuting last summer. They find themselves in the enviable position of having so much funding (for their immediate needs, at least) that they are no longer accepting donations.

A-list writer Joss Whedon is also getting in on the act with the forthcoming Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog, which will hopefully be appearing on the interweb soon.