It's too late for Writing Wednesday, but blame that on this silly cold I've had. I wanted to take a moment, especially after viewing this excellent video from the WGA to talk about the strike. (link to the video is here in case the embed doesn't work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ55Ir2jCxk)

As an electronically published erotic romance author, I am honored to have not only other authors, but also readers, who notify my publisher (and others) about piracy sites. Because when someone downloads a book from an unauthorized source it isn't just my publisher that gets hurt. It's the author (me!!!!) and if I'm in an anthology other authors as well. I can choose to give a copy of a print anthology to my mother, or my aunt. No one gets any royalties on those copies, either. But it's MY choice to give the book away, and I highly doubt any of my fellow authors would begrudge me a couple of copies to family members, just as I don't care if they do likewise. Because again, it's a choice.

However, what's happening in the world of script writing isn't a choice made by the writers. It's a choice made by a large company hell-bent on getting as much money for themselves as possible. Let's face it, most of the shows I watch are on NBC. They make a big deal about being able to stream their TV shows online. They wouldn't do it if it didn't make them money. So why, if they're using a writer's work, why wouldn't they pay the writer the residuals that he or she is due? If they don't, then I'm sorry, but they're no better than the pirates who think it's okay to download gazillions of books.

There's the impression that the internet is free. No, it isn't. Somewhere, someone is paying for the servers to host the information, the data connections to bring you the information, and the content to send to a viewer. If a company, like YouTube, has been able to do that without charging the end user. That's great. But somewhere, someone, is paying for all the videos we watch. It's usually the advertisers. No one knows where technology will take us. TV watching habits are changing dramatically, just as reading habits (move to electronic books), music listening habits (itunes or other like-services vs. cd purchases) are changing. Media is changing, and the companies not only have to keep up with that, but they need to pay their content providers. Otherwise, eventually, there won't be any content providers. No one likes to work for free.

I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on this subject. Do you think the WGA is right? wrong? What do you think? And please, spread this video. It really does help explain things. :)

Posted by Mary Winter :: 7:58 AM :: 0 comments

Post / Read Comments

---------------oOo---------------