tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post7775787605521467245..comments2024-03-26T23:41:10.319+00:00Comments on Authors Electric: The internet, piracy, and Amanda Palmer - Mari BiellaKatherine Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-39596189374952370832015-05-03T10:59:13.775+01:002015-05-03T10:59:13.775+01:00Apologies, my second point about earning money fro...Apologies, my second point about earning money from fiction was unclear: I meant, why bother trying to spend the time and energy on earning a mere pittance? There are more cost effective ways of supporting a writing habit.Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13770069472552779217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-39375401761201397852015-05-02T16:26:41.790+01:002015-05-02T16:26:41.790+01:00Thanks for the comments, everyone. I absolutely ag...Thanks for the comments, everyone. I absolutely agree that the model espoused by Amanda Palmer would almost certainly be rather ineffective for most people. Yet there really is something refreshing and interesting about her approach to it all. I also agree, Lee, that an as-yet-unforeseen technological development could entirely change the landscape for all of us; indeed, I’d say that was not just possible, but probable.<br /><br />And thank you, Dennis, Aniko and Bill – but if you had any idea what my musical skills are like, you’d probably have second thoughts! (And Aniko – you’ve aroused my curiosity about Ksenia Anske. I might have to do some research...)<br />Mari Biellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14221256993468150226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-19163003855120339332015-05-02T16:11:31.713+01:002015-05-02T16:11:31.713+01:00Much food for thought, Mari. And thanks for that l...Much food for thought, Mari. And thanks for that link. I'd never heard her speak before and she's a powerful, charismatic performer, isn't she? My attitude to the pirates is close to that of the others. They're parasites but, in the end, if they think my book's worth the trouble, it's a (back-handed) compliment and, as Catherine says, they're not really lost sales. They might even generate some word of mouth. I'm an optimist. People will always need fiction and some (probably most) will want to pay for it.<br />And when you've finished serenading Dennis, pop up to Aberdeen.Bill Kirtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16345949773423764808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-29975301727517612892015-05-02T14:49:13.592+01:002015-05-02T14:49:13.592+01:00Ah, the Amanda Palmer enigma. I've been trying...Ah, the Amanda Palmer enigma. I've been trying to puzzle out my own mixed reactions to her. I do agree that her approach won't work for everyone - she concedes as much herself. I also agree that her particular history and associates have helped make her visible in a world where no one (seemingly) is content to sit quietly. The idea of art as a gift, and something that people willing give support to the artist for, is ancient and I do believe that our modern commerce has strangled, if not severed, the link between the artist and her community. There are so many different angles from which to meditate upon the Amanda Palmer enigma. I alternate between inspiration and despair.<br /><br />The only author I know who is closely following Amanda's example is Ksenia Anske. If you compare her Patreon campaign to Amanda's, though, I think you'll get a better picture of the level of response to an artist who does not have a cult following in multiple media formats. I love that Patreon exists, and I hope it does turn out to be a viable alternative to mainstream commerce. At the moment, though, it may not be the fully viable financial option for unknown artists as it is for Amanda Palmer. <br /><br />Mari, you and your ukulele are welcome at my home, any time.<br /><br />-anikoAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05234745981660678178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-35348179243703657862015-05-02T12:55:39.914+01:002015-05-02T12:55:39.914+01:00I also know from my son's experience that vide...I also know from my son's experience that video game designers, even with thousands of legal downloads, can be paid very little. You have to achieve Angry Birds levels before it becomes cost effective - and yet it's an expensive and demanding business to be in. I don't know what the answer is. Catherine Czerkawskahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14554969254207924049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-60356920693329443012015-05-02T12:52:27.831+01:002015-05-02T12:52:27.831+01:00Really interesting piece of analysis, Mari. I'...Really interesting piece of analysis, Mari. I'm reasonably laid back about piracy in that I don't go looking for it and I don't think pirated copies represent lost sales - not right now, anyway. But then I keep my prices low. I won't pay over £5 for an eBook and I get very frustrated when a traditional publisher prices the next book in a series I'm hooked on at what seems to be an extortionate price - £8 or £9 in some cases. I won't buy it - and I won't pirate it either, but I can see how a great many people, unable to access what they want at a reasonable price (or, in some cases, at all!) would be tempted to pirate. One of my radio plays is available on a pirate channel and I've directed people to it because there's no other way they're going to be able to listen to it. I do think price as well as availability is the key to a lot of this. Our local community cafe would love to be able to play music, but the two licences needed are so expensive that they can't afford them - it's too big a chunk out of the takings of a not-for-profit business. So they don't play it at all. Nobody wins in this situation. Catherine Czerkawskahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14554969254207924049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-47241510996936342192015-05-02T12:42:04.282+01:002015-05-02T12:42:04.282+01:00hm great post Mari. It's already happening, wi...hm great post Mari. It's already happening, with festivals adn events expecting even famous authors to perform gratis and even pay their own expenses, becoming the norm - only a couple of years ago I'd get 'arts council recommended minimum rates' or more - now they offer much more well known folks than me, a big fat nowt. I've read some famous musicians too, are getting almost nothing from downloads, even millions of downloads, and these are legal ones! also there's the democritisation of art - masses of folks are doing it, at one time some did and some consumed, now it's getting more like an even split, moving fast towards that anyway. We have to roll with the times, and perhaps the professional artist will become a rare thing. Palmer is too privileged to be a viable model for most of us - would we get the coverage, and enough to buy gregg's pasties, if we did the same? But her approach is refreshing. However there is a lot of the 'you're undercutting other artists' feeling about as well. We are in the middle of a major change here. Thanks for raising all this in such an interesting way.Lydia Bennethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09328239009863878547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-43904455996484135272015-05-02T12:41:35.873+01:002015-05-02T12:41:35.873+01:00Mari, I'd be chuffed to bits if you turned up ...Mari, I'd be chuffed to bits if you turned up unannounced with your ukelele. On a related matter (to your blog, not your ukelele) I was very worried about the Green Party's proposal to limit copyright to 14 years. I heard Caroline Lucas explain yesterday that they meant 14 years after the author's death, not book publication. Slightly better, but even so, the Greens are the only blue sky (I think that's the current term) thinkers in politics today and it seems a portent. Today's blue skies are tomorrow's peasouper fogs. Legal piracy can come even earlier.Dennis Hamleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15781139870037634374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-33887969391072854312015-05-02T10:42:32.613+01:002015-05-02T10:42:32.613+01:00Most of you know my views:
1. I'm very tolera...Most of you know my views:<br /><br />1. I'm very tolerant of piracy.<br />2. Unless there's any way to earn a significant amount of money from writing fiction, why bother spending the time and energy necessary to do so? (In my case, it's a simple business computation: a one-page translation will net me more than at least a month's worth of writing fiction. And I also happen to prefer the freedom that 'free' ensures.)<br />3. Palmer is undoubtedly as much of an exception in her way as JK Rowling is in hers: on the whole, the ask-rather-than-demand model seems to work only in rare cases (Cory Doctorow?). The why of popular appeal is still not well understood -- and perhaps never will be. Are we dealing with black swans? A business model which relies on poorly understood processes, and perhaps flukes, is not particularly sound.<br />4. I doubt that there is a single way forward. And one unexpected technological development may change everything again.Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13770069472552779217noreply@blogger.com