| > You seem to argue that writers don't deserve royalties because all writing is derivative You're interpreting my words rather creatively there. And by creatively, I mean "wrong". I'm being more inclusive, not exclusive, for where the work is done. To take a different tack: it makes sense for many authors to go to a publisher and have a back-and-forth with an editor and end up with only 10% of the gross sales, and this implies that 90% of the value isn't really coming from the author (in most cases and almost all the famous authors are exceptional). > The alternative is bleak: if writers are not supported via royalties, then the only financially viable "art" will inevitably be mass-produced, mass-marketed pablum. I think we already live in such a world: as you agree, most authors cannot sustain themselves from just the writing, only rare exceptions like JK Rowling and Stephen King. As the rest only barely make do, I assert that this demonstrates they are forced to do exactly what you decry. (There's a lot of free stories distributed on reddit etc., some even have patreon set up. I don't think that makes a difference either way). |
I'm not arguing for any kind of philosophical "labor theory of value". My point is very practical: writers need royalties. Yes it sucks for the writers that they only get 10-20% of the sales, but it's infinitely better than 0%!
> as you agree, most authors cannot sustain themselves from just the writing, only rare exceptions like JK Rowling and Stephen King.
I don't agree with that and didn't say it. In fact it's empirically false. I said that in the hypothetical scenario with no royalties, most authors wouldn't be able to sustain themselves. In the real world, there are a lot of professional writers other than Rowling and King who make a decent, good, or even great living.
The reason that the film writers and actors are going on strike is that streaming and AI are an existential threat to them. But it can't be an existential threat if they don't exist in the first place. Professional writers and actors do exist aside from the super rich and famous ones (who are striking more in solidarity than from personal fear). Of course show business is very difficult to get into; nonetheless, it's a lucrative industry supporting countless professionals. And most of them need their royalties, because they don't get the giant unfront checks that the big stars do.