kindkit: A late-Victorian futuristic zeppelin. (Airship)
kindkit ([personal profile] kindkit) wrote2009-05-06 08:19 pm

the trouble with zines

THIRTY-EIGHT DOLLARS FOR A ZINE?

*headdesks repeatedly*

Okay, I get that zines aren't cheap to produce (although it would surprise me greatly if it cost that much). And I get that zines have historically been an important part of fandom. But nowadays there's this awesome invention that lets you distribute your fanfiction and fanart to the entire world for free. It's called the internet. Surely making your work available as widely as possible, as cheaply as possible, is more in keeping with the nonprofit/gift economy ethos of fandom?

(And no, I don't accept the "but some people don't have internet access" argument. There's hardly a place in the world anymore without internet access, and if somebody can afford $38 for a zine they can afford dial-up. Zine distribution is more exclusionary than internet distribution, not less so.)

*****
st_aurafina: Rainbow DNA (Default)

the trouble with zines

[personal profile] st_aurafina 2009-05-07 02:07 am (UTC)(link)
Wow. I can't even imagine paying that for a zine. I thought the whole point was to cover the cost of getting your words out there.

*cherishes Aussie X-Files zines ($2 per issue) from the before-internet times*