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Nick_Djinn · 01-27-2011, 05:17 AM

I think some people here are deliberately dense, as in purposefully misrepresenting my argument.

I think the authors should be paid. I think the artists should get MORE of the profits for themselves. I am not as interested in propping up all the middle men who make a killing. I am not against honest people making a living, but I see no reason to adjust policy to protect those making a KILLING. Im not talking about the artists here, I am talking about the producers who have monopolistic control over the industry and take the largest chunk for themselves.

When you spend $17 on a e-book that could be purchased for $6.99 in paperback, do you believe that the ARTIST is getting $17? Do you believe that the ARTIST is going to make more money if Amazon charges $17 than if somebody bought the same book for $6.99?....While contracts vary, this is most generally not the case. Artists get the smaller portion of the profits, or a fixed amount plus royalties per unit sold, and selling the book for a higher price does not mean the ARTIST gets a higher price....It means that billionaires get more profit and the artist gets exactly the same compensation. The exception of course is if they are self published.

Of course some right wingers dont believe we should even HAVE a public library providing FREE books, paid for with taxes. Amazon and Disney shouldnt have to kick down any of their hundred billion dollar profits to pay for parks, libraries, the fire department.....some people think that private fire departments should replace public ones, and that public libraries are socialist because they dont encourage people to buy their own books and resent the pittance they get taxed that actually goes to the public good.

I think the artists should be compensated for their work, and the more people who download and read their book the more they should be rewarded. Instead of piracy where the artist gets nothing, the library will let you check the book out for at least two weeks, and you can renew it for free with a limit of e-books on your reader at once, and every time you check out the books the artist gets more revenue.

I think that despite lower compensation per copy, a higher volume of sales will equalize this, and without as many middle men needing high payouts the artist might actually get MORE money in some cases. This alternative would be paid for with taxes, but would be a wonderful public service that would encourage people to read and also encourage artists to write more books.

What I am preaching here isnt some evil socialist plot. Its a modern day technological expansion of the original intention of the library. You can ALREADY read millions of books for FREE. If free books at the library offends your capitalist instincts, then you have problems.

You can buy a book if you want to, but maybe we should make the e-book section at the library better as a preferable alternative to piracy for those who dont pay for books anyway, and those who wont pay for books can divert small amounts of taxes to support the artists instead of giving them nothing at all.

Please grasp my argument before responding.

01-27-2011, 05:17 AM	#9
Nick_Djinn Member Posts: 22 Karma: 50256 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Boox, Pocketbook, Asus	I think some people here are deliberately dense, as in purposefully misrepresenting my argument. I think the authors should be paid. I think the artists should get MORE of the profits for themselves. I am not as interested in propping up all the middle men who make a killing. I am not against honest people making a living, but I see no reason to adjust policy to protect those making a KILLING. Im not talking about the artists here, I am talking about the producers who have monopolistic control over the industry and take the largest chunk for themselves. When you spend $17 on a e-book that could be purchased for $6.99 in paperback, do you believe that the ARTIST is getting $17? Do you believe that the ARTIST is going to make more money if Amazon charges $17 than if somebody bought the same book for $6.99?....While contracts vary, this is most generally not the case. Artists get the smaller portion of the profits, or a fixed amount plus royalties per unit sold, and selling the book for a higher price does not mean the ARTIST gets a higher price....It means that billionaires get more profit and the artist gets exactly the same compensation. The exception of course is if they are self published. Of course some right wingers dont believe we should even HAVE a public library providing FREE books, paid for with taxes. Amazon and Disney shouldnt have to kick down any of their hundred billion dollar profits to pay for parks, libraries, the fire department.....some people think that private fire departments should replace public ones, and that public libraries are socialist because they dont encourage people to buy their own books and resent the pittance they get taxed that actually goes to the public good. I think the artists should be compensated for their work, and the more people who download and read their book the more they should be rewarded. Instead of piracy where the artist gets nothing, the library will let you check the book out for at least two weeks, and you can renew it for free with a limit of e-books on your reader at once, and every time you check out the books the artist gets more revenue. I think that despite lower compensation per copy, a higher volume of sales will equalize this, and without as many middle men needing high payouts the artist might actually get MORE money in some cases. This alternative would be paid for with taxes, but would be a wonderful public service that would encourage people to read and also encourage artists to write more books. What I am preaching here isnt some evil socialist plot. Its a modern day technological expansion of the original intention of the library. You can ALREADY read millions of books for FREE. If free books at the library offends your capitalist instincts, then you have problems. You can buy a book if you want to, but maybe we should make the e-book section at the library better as a preferable alternative to piracy for those who dont pay for books anyway, and those who wont pay for books can divert small amounts of taxes to support the artists instead of giving them nothing at all. Please grasp my argument before responding.