Episode 218: The Money Question 3: Books???
Following previous installments on the thorny intersections of money and fanfiction, Episode 218, “The Money Question 3: Books???” tackles the recent debacle around people illegally selling bound copies of others’ fic, which has mostly centered on mega-popular Dramione works. Jumping off from Elizabeth’s WIRED article on the subject—which ties the practice to the current pull-to-publish wave as well as the Twilight fan-run presses of the early 2010s—Elizabeth and Flourish discuss the context collapse when a fic “breaches containment,” double standards in attitudes towards money and various fan practices, and, for likely the 1,000th time on this podcast, what exactly “fair use” means.
You knew we were gonna discuss it—and of course this one ran super long lol. It was so helpful to talk this through with @flourish, who has a ton of historical knowledge in this realm (threatened by Warner Bros. as a pre-teen!) and, in their previous life working in Hollywood, has been in the room with the rights holders who are looking at monetized fanworks and taking...a variety of stances.