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the trouble with zines
May. 6th, 2009 08:19 pmTHIRTY-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.)
*****
*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.)
*****
