Big Media Cashes In On Us
So, I know folks have been chatting on the Internets about this Amazon Kindle Worlds thing (read Scalzi's thoughts on the matter), and I find the whole phenom interesting on a meta level, because it really was just a matter of time before someone figgered out a way to cash in on fanfiction, somehow, someway.
It really is quite ingenious, and it's all contained in this one little clause "By using the platform, authors give all rights to the work to Amazon, who can then license your elements to other authors with no compensation to the original poster."
They're not trying to sugar-coat it at all. It's a straight-up, bare-bones IP theft type dealie, the kind of thing Big Media has been doing to comic book illustrators, musicians, and other artists since copyright first was invented, but even worser. Pennies, pennies will they offer to pay fanfiction writers for their brilliant plots and 'verses and OCs, because Hollywood has been out of ideas since 1965 and has been rehashing the same ol' since then.
If I have to see another remake of the A-Team or Tron, I'll eat my left sock.
So here it is: we are a gold mine, and they want to cash in by putting some pasty interns on the job of hashing through the heaps of fanfiction that impoverished writers will publish on the new service because they, you know, want to eat and stuff. One of these writers will make maybe $54 all-told on their fabulous 150K wd AU where, I dunno, some glittery vampire has a meet-cute with a barista at the magical coffee shop on the corner when he has an allergic reaction to her Chai latte. Which turns into the next mega hit for MGM starring Jennifer Lawrence and Ryan Gosling.
Writer goes to the movie, pays for the ticket out of her meager budget and gets to see her characters on the screen. But doesn't see her name on the ending scroll, or get paid a single penny.
Repeat ad infinitum.
Awesome.
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It really is quite ingenious, and it's all contained in this one little clause "By using the platform, authors give all rights to the work to Amazon, who can then license your elements to other authors with no compensation to the original poster."
They're not trying to sugar-coat it at all. It's a straight-up, bare-bones IP theft type dealie, the kind of thing Big Media has been doing to comic book illustrators, musicians, and other artists since copyright first was invented, but even worser. Pennies, pennies will they offer to pay fanfiction writers for their brilliant plots and 'verses and OCs, because Hollywood has been out of ideas since 1965 and has been rehashing the same ol' since then.
If I have to see another remake of the A-Team or Tron, I'll eat my left sock.
So here it is: we are a gold mine, and they want to cash in by putting some pasty interns on the job of hashing through the heaps of fanfiction that impoverished writers will publish on the new service because they, you know, want to eat and stuff. One of these writers will make maybe $54 all-told on their fabulous 150K wd AU where, I dunno, some glittery vampire has a meet-cute with a barista at the magical coffee shop on the corner when he has an allergic reaction to her Chai latte. Which turns into the next mega hit for MGM starring Jennifer Lawrence and Ryan Gosling.
Writer goes to the movie, pays for the ticket out of her meager budget and gets to see her characters on the screen. But doesn't see her name on the ending scroll, or get paid a single penny.
Repeat ad infinitum.
Awesome.
[ X-posted to Dreamwidth with
comments | How to use OpenID ]