long live Mojo Jojo!

The impression I’ve gotten in the past is that game publishers and record companies share similarities with insurance companies and hedge funds. Diversify in development, recoup with the handful of big hits you get (thus balancing the duds). However, I recently heard Robert Fripp speak about the inequities of the recording industry, particularly how the artist must pay back the publishers investment before they can collect profits in the form of royalties. This is especially diabolical when one considers that the artists don’t even own the copyrights to the works they have (in the end) fully funded the creation of!

Is there a similar story that plays out in the game industry? Is there room in the world, do you think, for a Discipline Global Mobile (Fripp’s independent record label) of games, where game creators own more rights to the works they “sweat & tears” into existence?