Here's a roundup of stories on art and entertainment business models that might be of interest to fans:
- In a series of posts, media scholar Henry Jenkins featured transmedia designer and theorist Brian Clark's discussion about business models for entertainment including "Fan Incubation" and "Fan Funding." "In the past, fan development was slow (for example, the way fan correspondence saved H.P. Lovecraft's works from disappearing) or physical (like the "make record and tour college towns" model of independent musicians like John Vanderslice). The age of the Internet has revolutionized the ability for creators and fans to have rich, meaningful interactions that have led to successes."
- Many fans have embraced the idea of Creative Commons licenses for their work, but as this article points out, its terms are often misunderstood and misused. "Creative Commons has been a force for good on the web, letting people share their work with others and making it easier to let them define the terms of that sharing." However, "what does “noncommercial” mean? Creative Commons isn’t very helpful here. Their definition of “commercial” is “in any manner that is primarily intended for or directed toward commercial advantage or private monetary compensation.”...Selling the photo would certainly seem to count as “commercial.” But is using the photo on a web page that also has ads on it — is that commercial?"
- Another post points out "Wired isn’t the only for-profit publisher using noncommercial CC images." Confusion exists over the purpose of a business and the use of a particular work. "[T]he question is whether noncommercial means the same thing as nonprofit. A nonprofit institution can still buy and sell things; a for-profit institution can engage in lots of behavior that isn’t explicitly commercial." As one science photographer pointed out "Creative Commons only functions properly when both content creators and content users have the same understanding of the simplified CC contract." This certainly calls into question how useful YouTube's move in June was to allow users to embed Creative Commons licenses, even beyond the fact that they only enabled one form of the license, which allows commercial re-use of the work.
If you use Creative Commons licenses or are interested in fannish business models, why not contribute to Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.
We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!
Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.
