|
Even with no copyright as an incentive for writers, readers will still exist with an interest in obtaining new books worth reading. This desire for books will create channels whereby writers will be rewarded for writing.
Publishers as such will disappear to be replaced by book portals run by editors and critics who can assure subscribers of a high quality of content to be obtained therein suited to readers tastes. (I'm assuming all books will be ebooks.)
These will function a bit like book clubs.
Generally portal subscribers will have a negative incentive to share books since this decreases the value of their "club". It is more to their advantage to encourage interested friends to join, or to obtain the same book through cross-posting in another "club".
Some clubs will tend to have readers/subscribers with better ethics in terms of what they will pay and of how much cultural capital they will provide for authors, or editors. There will be great competition amongst "clubs" to attract these high class readers.
This will lead to a resurgence of fiction of a very high literary standard.
One could perhaps view the McSweeney's brand as a move in this direction.
Writers of airplane and beach best-sellers, while still doing well, will no longer get massively rewarded, since people will think less of sharing their products.
|