this post was submitted on 10 Jan 2025
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Australians' love of cheap books is driving independent bookstores and writers out of business. These prominent authors believe there is a simple solution.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 weeks ago (9 children)

Maybe the invisible hand of the market belongs to an illiterate fool?

FBP seems like a bandaid in a car crash. Capitalism isn't a good framework for ~~anything except making like 100 awful people disgustingly wealthy~~ making and distrubuting cultural artefacts. Book are just hard to make and hard to enjoy relative to Netflix slop and video games etc.

[–] murtaza64 3 points 3 weeks ago (8 children)

books are hard to make compared to tv/movies and video games?? how?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 weeks ago (7 children)

Because outside of some textbooks they are almost entirely solitary efforts until editing, which is a very difficult thing to pull off. They have smaller audiences, take longer to 'consume', can't be sold for as larger margins, and they are not easy to monetise in other ways aside from sale. Additionally physical copies are much more expensive to make than digital copies of media, and many book enjoyers want physical copies.

Just look around, nobody gets rich making books. Mass market tv/film and video games are staggering profitable by comparison, and hence easier and more attractive to make.

[–] murtaza64 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

you're right, it's definitely easier to market and push a high budget movie or game and make a ton of money off of it. I guess I was thinking of total labor involved in publishing a book vs a movie without considering whether it will actually be read/watched

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago

Oh right, yeah that is a correct thing to be confused by. I was talking market and you were talking effort and we were both probably thinking: what the fuck sort of idiot is this person? :p

It's just generally true that being an indie creative while having to pay rent or get thrown to the street to starve and die is very difficult. People with vision and drive make the most valuable culture, and capitalism sees that as inefficient.

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