Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing has allowed more and more people to publish their own works directly across different genres, including genres as extreme as “Adult Baby Diaper Lover erotic.” But Benjamin Kunkel finds that very few of the multitude of books published by Amazon are worthy of being called literature. Amazon, to him, is focused more on the profit that comes with publishing works willy-nilly — with a 30% cut, how could they not? — instead of producing serious literature. Read full article here
Oddities
Why Do Modern Pop Songs Have So Many Credited Writers?
The music industry has changed dramatically over the last few decades – with the number of songwriters credited on number one hits more than doubling. This is due to a combination of factors, including money, the computer and a changing definition of what songwriting is. For example, if The Beatles’ classic “I Feel Fine” was released today, it would likely have four writers credited instead of two, due to the influence of producers, samples and interpolations. With the rise of lawsuits, artists now preemptively add songwriter credits to their songs, even if the similarities between their song and the source material are coincidental. It all goes to show that the music industry is becoming more complex and competitive. Read full article here
Merv
March 29, 2023
