Quote:
Originally Posted by MattW
I don't think you'd need to fear that. If the proposed scheme comes to pass, it won't be with those guys, it'll be set up by a more legitimate company (like this iOS-only startup Oyster, only bigger). What I would fear if I were an author would be the Spotify/Pandora-effect -- that the money an individual author gets out of this is a few cents a month.
Flat-rate doesn't really work if its not limited (two books per week, for example); all the music flatrate services are making money only by paying the actual artists a mere pittance. Sure, if you're Kanye West, a tenth of a cent for a song adds up, but not if you're some mid-range artist.
Why? That's exactly what makes unlimited flat-rates so enticing for consumers: you pay a little, get a lot and can feel good about compensating the artist while in reality only compensating a particular company.
Matt |
Agreed. I buy artwork and I've also talked to artists. I can't BELIEVE the pennies they get for the downloads. I try to go direct to artists whenever possible. Even if I'm paying an average of a dollar to 2 dollars per download, I'd rather that go to the artist. But some artists don't have websites and some charge 70 dollars for one photo (non-exclusive). So I usually find myself back at the "subscription" sites. I have worked with a few artists however and we've negotiated a reasonable payment (which for me means 10 to 15 per photo).
I did check out oyster (Did I get that name right? I can't remember). Anyway, I don't see a lot of benefit for an author other than exposure in the early days. But the way smashwords ships books isn't always that much of a benefit. Most of the time here lately, they ship the best selling 10k books. They may or may not push the rest eventually, depending on the retailer and what the retailer wants. I sell okay on Smash, but I am not in their top selling.
I don't actually see a lot of benefit as a reader to those subscriptions either. Oh sure, if I could download 80 books all at once and then cancel my sub, sure. But I can't read 80 books a year so ...and I don't want to sort them either. I already spend DAYS sorting artwork when it's time to buy. And by days I mean it takes me an average of two weeks. I load the wish bucket, sort, test, etc. Then I start downloading and working. I change out some things in the bucket as I learn from the design. With books? It would be like the freebie game now. I'd read a chapter here and there...I'd set this aside and before I know it, I'm spending all my time sorting.