Sun, 2 Aug 2020 09:59:52 +1000
Katherine Phelps <muse [at] glasswings.com.au>
I'm always disappointed by these cheap shots.
"Publisher" in this case is Kenneth Whyte, a small publisher of
Sutherland House Books in Canada. He founded his publishing house in
2017 and began releasing books in 2019. All books published are/were
commissioned and edited by Whyte himself. We aren't talking about a
large publisher making millions even billions of dollars. We are looking
at someone whose budding business has just had a severe blow and may fold.
Michael Masnik is the founder and CEO of a major electronic publishing
house Floor64 with offices in Silicon Valley. He also founded its
publication Techdirt. This is what's said about Techdirt: “Techdirt has
a tremendous influence on the Wall Street Journal,”**Kara Swisher,
Executive Editor/, The Wall Street Journal./
/
/
When I graduated from university it was still possible for most
novelists in the US and the UK to make a modest living. Now days this is
only possible for a few. The same was true for small publishers. We once
had people making a living out of magazines for teddy bear collectors,
people interested in lesser known sports like curling, and more. With
the advent of the internet these have all been wiped out.
It's very easy to get on your high horse when you are a publisher who is
making an upper class salary.
Access to information, thought, and culture is important. It shouldn't
only be in the hands of the wealthy.
However, to make that information, thought, and culture available, the
people creating it must be given the means to live securely.
I would agree with Masnik that we shouldn't be closing down libraries.
Yet, he offers absolutely no alternative as to how writers and
publishers not in the lucrative tech industry are going to survive to
produce the works the library lends.
Here in Australia each time my book Surf's Up: Internet Australian
Style is checked out from a library, the government records this and
then regularly sends me payments for its use. This is appropriate use of
taxpayer dollars, since access to these sorts of works also enriches the
country by broadening our minds and forging connections through shared
experiences.
If Masnik really cared about libraries, he should have also shown some
compassion for writers and small publishers. If he really cared he
should have suggested that we tax the rich and use the money to give all
people a safety net, so that they can speak freely and thereby ensure we
truly are living in a democracy. If you dig a little on the Techdirt
site you will notice, _/they do not pay the writers who submit
articles/_. I think this comes under the heading of the pot calling the
kettle black.
On 2/8/20 6:16 am, Andrew Pam wrote:
"Publisher" in this case is Kenneth Whyte, a small publisher of
Sutherland House Books in Canada. He founded his publishing house in
2017 and began releasing books in 2019. All books published are/were
commissioned and edited by Whyte himself. We aren't talking about a
large publisher making millions even billions of dollars. We are looking
at someone whose budding business has just had a severe blow and may fold.
Michael Masnik is the founder and CEO of a major electronic publishing
house Floor64 with offices in Silicon Valley. He also founded its
publication Techdirt. This is what's said about Techdirt: “Techdirt has
a tremendous influence on the Wall Street Journal,”**Kara Swisher,
Executive Editor/, The Wall Street Journal./
/
/
When I graduated from university it was still possible for most
novelists in the US and the UK to make a modest living. Now days this is
only possible for a few. The same was true for small publishers. We once
had people making a living out of magazines for teddy bear collectors,
people interested in lesser known sports like curling, and more. With
the advent of the internet these have all been wiped out.
It's very easy to get on your high horse when you are a publisher who is
making an upper class salary.
Access to information, thought, and culture is important. It shouldn't
only be in the hands of the wealthy.
However, to make that information, thought, and culture available, the
people creating it must be given the means to live securely.
I would agree with Masnik that we shouldn't be closing down libraries.
Yet, he offers absolutely no alternative as to how writers and
publishers not in the lucrative tech industry are going to survive to
produce the works the library lends.
Here in Australia each time my book Surf's Up: Internet Australian
Style is checked out from a library, the government records this and
then regularly sends me payments for its use. This is appropriate use of
taxpayer dollars, since access to these sorts of works also enriches the
country by broadening our minds and forging connections through shared
experiences.
If Masnik really cared about libraries, he should have also shown some
compassion for writers and small publishers. If he really cared he
should have suggested that we tax the rich and use the money to give all
people a safety net, so that they can speak freely and thereby ensure we
truly are living in a democracy. If you dig a little on the Techdirt
site you will notice, _/they do not pay the writers who submit
articles/_. I think this comes under the heading of the pot calling the
kettle black.
On 2/8/20 6:16 am, Andrew Pam wrote:
<https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20200727/16343744985/publisher-decries-damn-libraries-entertaining-masses-stuck-home-free.shtml>
"For years and years we've pointed out that, if they were invented
today, copyright maximalist authors and publishers would absolutely
scream about libraries and probably sue them out of existence. Some
insisted that we were exaggerating, but now we've seen nearly all of the
big publishers sue the Internet Archive over its digital library that
acts just like a regular library.
But, perhaps the most frustrating part in all of this, is that whenever
these copyright maximalist authors and publishers are confronted about
this, they twist themselves into knots to say "well, I actually love
libraries, but..." before beginning a bunch of arguments that show they
do not, in fact, like libraries. Sometimes, however rarely, a maximalist
just comes out and admits the facts: they fucking hate libraries."
Via Glyn Moody, who wrote "these are sad, sick people…"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
