Quote:
Originally Posted by Libertine
Doing original research without as much packaging might cost as much (or more) effort than packaging it in an easy-to-read format, so the effort-argument doesn't really work, in my view.
Moreover, let's compare two very similar things: songs and poetry. Imagine that you sent your girlfriend a beautiful poem you just read in some book. Chances are that that poem cost as much time to make as a random hit song. Yet sending the poem to your girlfriend, or even your entire mailing list, would hardly be seen as stealing by most people.
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I'm not sure I understand your first statement. With "original research", do you mean on the actual experiment level, or on the level of the author who researches through published literature? If it is the former then I would say that the revenue model for a university, and creating budgets for research projects might be different from the standard "make something and sell it to people" process. If it's the latter, then the cost of research, both time and money, is considerable... and that's part of the production process (the effort). The author can easily get a decent return on his investment by selling to the finished product to hundreds, thousands, or millions of people.
If he can't sell it then he's not getting a return on his investment of time and money. Please correct me if I'm misinterpreting what you've said.
As for your example, it's a good one and certainly not easy for me to answer. Does the poet expect a return on his investment? Do the publishers? Is distributing this single poem going to create an unacceptable fiscal drain for either?
However, I'm a bit uneasy comparing a single poem with a single hit song, especially songs that are professionally produced. You don't need a recording studio for a poem, or a marketing team, and so the costs of creating and publishing a hit song are massive compared to a poem. It is in my opinion that one poem vs. one professionally produced song is comparing apples and oranges when considering the production costs of both.
This is a great discussion, and I look forward to your reply.
