4 ms·

First they made music a subscription service. And because I like music but I'm a poor struggling author, I didn't listen to those greedy musicians who said this

First they made music a subscription service. And because I like music but I'm a poor struggling author, I didn't listen to those greedy musicians who said this was unfair. Screw you musicians. This Fantasy novel isn't going to get finished unless I can listen to my power-ballad spotify playlist. Then they made video a subscription service. And because I didn't make videos (video being a lesser form of entertainment), I didn't complain. In fact it's great. I get NetFlix for $6.00 a month. And then they devalued the perceived cost of software with the App Store. $0.99 for a game that took tens of thousands of hours of work to complete. Those greedy lazy programmers. And finally, they came for the books. And I spent nearly a full month writing this book. And oh, if it doesn't make me furious that Amazon has the gall, and the temerity to allow people to read it for a fixed monthly subscription. - Signed, a.n. author.

lukeschlather 12y ago
And oh, if it doesn't make me furious that my local library has the gall, and the temerity to allow people to read it for free.
- oneeyedpigeon 12y ago
  Libraries are not always easy to get to, have restricted opening hours, often won't have the latest books available, impose fees if you don't return the book within a certain period of time, can only supply a very limited number of copies of each title at one time, and (as pointed out elsewhere) might require you to be a tax-paying local resident. Libraries have been pretty solidly proven not to negatively affect the market in new books for all these, and possibly more, reasons. Kindle Unlimited is a whole other ballgame.
  - dminor 12y ago
    Most libraries have ebooks you can "check out" without setting foot in their building.
oh_sigh 12y ago
Why would you care how much amazon charges for a monthly subscription? Firstly, you don't need to sign up your book to be part of the program. Secondly, it doesn't matter how much amazon charges for the service, it matters how much money you make. Unless you don't care about that, in which case why did you write this post?
Mandelbug 12y ago
I think it is much more likely that businesses are readjusting for the new reality of customer expectations regarding media: cheap, on demand, and cheap. Customers don't care about how much royalties an artistic creator might get, and if they did they wouldn't have supported the music or book publishing industries, which gave authors tiny royalties for each book sold. Customers only care about price. And if piracy and large abundance of media is any indicator, the sheer volume of work being created along with a greater entitled feeling among customers is the primary downwards force for price. While your frustration is understandable and disappointing, the customers are far more to blame than any one company.
- my_thoughts 12y ago
  To the immediate comment: it's the customers fault the writers don't get a lot more in royalties. I think this rather narrow minded-- to think that as consumers we have control over what business(& believe me, publishers are a business), pay to the writers. That's like saying we have control over what a grocery store pays the company that makes Cheerios. The writers have to fight for what they want, just like we have to fight/negotiate with our boss for a raise. We, as consumers and fans of their writing could certainly support them in their endeavors but ultimately...it's up to them. :) I would like to make a comment about The initial topic in relation to digital books & Amazon Prime. I read a lot! I mean a lot! Perhaps... 1 book every 1-3 days. What I've noticed is that books that would normally be offered as free books or, at the most 99 cents, are now being offered only in the Amazon Prime lending program. So now, what I use to get for free, I now have to pay a monthly fee for access. This upsets me greatly! I write reviews for the books which are published on Amazon, goodreads.com, & the authors blog, as well. This only helps the writer for future readers which in turn means better sales now and in the future. If Amazon left alone: the already free and the books in the future that fit that same category for free, then I think, this Prime lending idea might be a fair idea for consumers but it's not if they stick the free books in this Prime selection. As far as the authors go and fairness to them...? Idk. It's going to be up to those writers to let us (as their readers) know what they think of the whole thing. If they ask for out support in changing things then I'm sure we all agree, we'll do what we can to help. Our library doesn't have a lot of digital books but they're improving quickly, however the system is a little chaotic, and the wait list is long. I will gladly rent a physical book or digital from the library before paying for it but, quite frankly, it's not as easy as a download from Amazon. I personally love to hold a book in my hand. I love the smell of them and the nuance of turning a page. There's also the different text types that authors print. It's a way to customize their story. However, I also love the convenience of my kindle. If I took 20 books with me on vacation, I'd have to pay the extra weight fee for luggage :) but with my kindle the books are easily stored and transported. Portable. I have this ongoing fear that in our future an actual printed/paper book will be a huge commodity, children will be intrigued and mistified by this rare find and libraries will be no more. This would be a tragedy beyond my comprehension. I hope, for our children's sake, that printed books are very much a part of our future! 😉
viraptor 12y ago
While I agree with what you're saying to some extent, it's not so one-sided. Take the (digital) music as an example. For a long time CDs were the only way to buy it. Then it was DRMd CDs I couldn't easily listen to. (but Kazaa already offered an alternative) Then it was music downloads with its own players, that were more expensive than CDs. (alternative: DC at the university) Then it was DRMd internet download/streaming services at prices comparable to physical media. (and torrent everywhere) Now finally we've got a fairly cross-platform access to (almost) all the popular music out there that brings the physical production, storage and distribution costs down to almost nothing. Artists had nothing to do with it, but the distributors/producers could be in the position currently taken by Spotify / Google Music / iTunes many years ago. They could also keep prices higher than the current ones. They absolutely failed by sticking to old ways. Customers finally got what they were asking for for a decade and now people act surprised it's a good business causing race to the bottom. It will sort itself out if it's unsustainable. Interesting bands will likely create a new service, offering streaming at higher prices with more profits going to them at some point. If some band wants to get paid above the streaming rate, they should publish their album for direct download - people will buy it if they're good enough.

lukeschlather 12y ago

And oh, if it doesn't make me furious that my local library has the gall, and the temerity to allow people to read it for free.

oneeyedpigeon 12y ago
Libraries are not always easy to get to, have restricted opening hours, often won't have the latest books available, impose fees if you don't return the book within a certain period of time, can only supply a very limited number of copies of each title at one time, and (as pointed out elsewhere) might require you to be a tax-paying local resident. Libraries have been pretty solidly proven not to negatively affect the market in new books for all these, and possibly more, reasons. Kindle Unlimited is a whole other ballgame.
- dminor 12y ago
  Most libraries have ebooks you can "check out" without setting foot in their building.

oh_sigh 12y ago

Why would you care how much amazon charges for a monthly subscription? Firstly, you don't need to sign up your book to be part of the program. Secondly, it doesn't matter how much amazon charges for the service, it matters how much money you make. Unless you don't care about that, in which case why did you write this post?

Mandelbug 12y ago

I think it is much more likely that businesses are readjusting for the new reality of customer expectations regarding media: cheap, on demand, and cheap. Customers don't care about how much royalties an artistic creator might get, and if they did they wouldn't have supported the music or book publishing industries, which gave authors tiny royalties for each book sold. Customers only care about price. And if piracy and large abundance of media is any indicator, the sheer volume of work being created along with a greater entitled feeling among customers is the primary downwards force for price. While your frustration is understandable and disappointing, the customers are far more to blame than any one company.

my_thoughts 12y ago
To the immediate comment: it's the customers fault the writers don't get a lot more in royalties. I think this rather narrow minded-- to think that as consumers we have control over what business(& believe me, publishers are a business), pay to the writers. That's like saying we have control over what a grocery store pays the company that makes Cheerios. The writers have to fight for what they want, just like we have to fight/negotiate with our boss for a raise. We, as consumers and fans of their writing could certainly support them in their endeavors but ultimately...it's up to them. :) I would like to make a comment about The initial topic in relation to digital books & Amazon Prime. I read a lot! I mean a lot! Perhaps... 1 book every 1-3 days. What I've noticed is that books that would normally be offered as free books or, at the most 99 cents, are now being offered only in the Amazon Prime lending program. So now, what I use to get for free, I now have to pay a monthly fee for access. This upsets me greatly! I write reviews for the books which are published on Amazon, goodreads.com, & the authors blog, as well. This only helps the writer for future readers which in turn means better sales now and in the future. If Amazon left alone: the already free and the books in the future that fit that same category for free, then I think, this Prime lending idea might be a fair idea for consumers but it's not if they stick the free books in this Prime selection. As far as the authors go and fairness to them...? Idk. It's going to be up to those writers to let us (as their readers) know what they think of the whole thing. If they ask for out support in changing things then I'm sure we all agree, we'll do what we can to help. Our library doesn't have a lot of digital books but they're improving quickly, however the system is a little chaotic, and the wait list is long. I will gladly rent a physical book or digital from the library before paying for it but, quite frankly, it's not as easy as a download from Amazon. I personally love to hold a book in my hand. I love the smell of them and the nuance of turning a page. There's also the different text types that authors print. It's a way to customize their story. However, I also love the convenience of my kindle. If I took 20 books with me on vacation, I'd have to pay the extra weight fee for luggage :) but with my kindle the books are easily stored and transported. Portable. I have this ongoing fear that in our future an actual printed/paper book will be a huge commodity, children will be intrigued and mistified by this rare find and libraries will be no more. This would be a tragedy beyond my comprehension. I hope, for our children's sake, that printed books are very much a part of our future! 😉

viraptor 12y ago

While I agree with what you're saying to some extent, it's not so one-sided. Take the (digital) music as an example. For a long time CDs were the only way to buy it. Then it was DRMd CDs I couldn't easily listen to. (but Kazaa already offered an alternative) Then it was music downloads with its own players, that were more expensive than CDs. (alternative: DC at the university) Then it was DRMd internet download/streaming services at prices comparable to physical media. (and torrent everywhere) Now finally we've got a fairly cross-platform access to (almost) all the popular music out there that brings the physical production, storage and distribution costs down to almost nothing. Artists had nothing to do with it, but the distributors/producers could be in the position currently taken by Spotify / Google Music / iTunes many years ago. They could also keep prices higher than the current ones. They absolutely failed by sticking to old ways. Customers finally got what they were asking for for a decade and now people act surprised it's a good business causing race to the bottom. It will sort itself out if it's unsustainable. Interesting bands will likely create a new service, offering streaming at higher prices with more profits going to them at some point. If some band wants to get paid above the streaming rate, they should publish their album for direct download - people will buy it if they're good enough.