Hi Dark, First, let me say you guys in the U.K. are seriously getting ripped off or things are darned expensive, but I can't imagine paying $57 or more for an audio book. Just out of curiosity I checked Amazon.com and found the complete unabridged version of Knights of Dark Renown on CD for $41 and that is $16 less than the price you quoted on a physical media like CD. I didn't check Audible, but I suspect it is less since they tend to be a lot cheaper than Amazon.com because of being a digital download rather than being on physical media like tape or CD. Still, it sounds to me like you guys in the U.K. are getting some extra markup somewhere.
However, as to your point about the assessment of profit that is quite correct. That's generally the way it works with people hired to do acting etc. The company hires an actor or actress to do some acting for a set fee specified in their contract and that is that. Once the production gets sold the company retains both the royalties and profits for the production. Right or wrong it is something both parties generally agree to before hand. For example, let us say I write an audio game and hire a few actors and actresses to do a few lines for the game. I agree to pay them $100 each for their voice work. I pay them in advance for the voice work $100, and a few months later release the game and it makes $5000 over the course of the first few weeks. Should I then begin sending the voice actors and actresses a check their percentage of the profit when we already agreed on their payment for their work? This is the way most companies view employment. The person hired to do a job is only the employee and they agree to their wages. Once they leave the employers company they do not retain the rights to their work because the agreed to turn any and all intellectual property rights over to the company in their contract. If companies didn't do this they would constantly be paying money out for royalties and could run the risk of someone simply leaving the company and taking their product with them leaving the company with nothing. For instance, assume I got a job with Capcom and I came up with an awesome game called Super Dynaman.This game makes millions, and I decide I'm not making enough money since it was my idea. I take Capcom to court suing for a bigger cut of the pie. If companies didn't protect themselves by retaining the rights to the products and services they sell they'd have employees clambering for increasing bigger cuts of the profit and ultimately that would be destructive to the company as a whole. However, I do take your point that all to often the CEOs and other fat cats high up in management keep the majority of the profits for themselves rather than redistributing the profits more evenly among its employees. I agree that is really unfair since many corporate execs would rather line their pockets with millions while their employees get practically nothing and have to scratch and scrape for a living wage as well as things like health care. While I can freely agree this is wrong I think we should blame the people responsible such as the execs who love money more than care for their fellow man rather than making general statements of the evils of corporations. Anyway, I take your point about being personable rather than sounding like a machine. I don't know too many audio game developers who really have this problem, but I do agree I would work with someone who has a personality than someone who sounds like a machine. Commander Data has more personality than some of the corporate types I have dealt with. :D On 4/25/13, dark <d...@xgam.org> wrote: > Hi Tom. > Actually, my comments about audio books were based on realistic pricing that > > I have seen on price comparison sites, as well as the prices I have myself > paid for people like audible.co.uk. Tis might be because Uk publication > rights cost more than us ones, (there are lots of things that are simply not > > available in this country), however that comment was not theoretical. > > i never said that paying an extra five usd for an audio book would be > something I'd see as unreasonable, but when for example a copy of David > Gemmell's book Knights of Dark renown would cost me 7 pounds to buy in print > > as a paperback, but 57 in audio that is when i question company motives. > > My assessment of prophit is also based on the fact that I do know! actors > and professionals who reccord audio material, and they are not actually > seeing the prophits from the sales that go to pay their sallary at all. They > > are usually paid a set fixed income for the hours that they spend working on > > the reccording, and that is that, they get no steak in royalties or > prophits. > > This is indeed one of my main problems with so many major coorporations, > that instead of their prophits being distributed equally among employees > less the percentages that go into further production, costs are cut by > paying fixed sallaries, even to professional persons, while those at the top > > of the tree give themselves millions in bonuses. > > there are better examples, Google for instance used to work on a much more > share holding basis, but that is by no means the norm, and don't forget all > > those people like microsoft who drive their own costs down by having basic > production of goods done in countries with no minimmum wage or fair labour > laws, so that they can keep sallaries as low as possible. > > Bare in mind that while I do make economic cryticisms, they are not just > based entirely upon theory, but on research I myself have done as well. > > getting back to games, when i spoke of "professional image" I did mean > impersonal, rather than quick responses to tech enquirieis, being available > > etc, but the over all image and personality of the website and writing. > > to take an example, while it is obviously quite important and natural to > present information on your games and products in as clear a way, if there > is no information about yourself, why you write games, no jokes etc, then a > > person has nobody in mind as a single creator of the games and is thus more > > likely to engage in piracy. > > this is actually a skill that it is valuable to learn in any sort of > personal presentation, whether your a doctor, a lawyer, or indeed an actor, > > since if you just appear as someone from whome people get a service, well > people will think! of you as a machine. > > Beware the Grue! > Dark. > > > --- > Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org > If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to > gamers-unsubscr...@audyssey.org. > You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at > http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. > All messages are archived and can be searched and read at > http://www.mail-archive.com/gamers@audyssey.org. > If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, > please send E-mail to gamers-ow...@audyssey.org. > --- Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to gamers-unsubscr...@audyssey.org. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/gamers@audyssey.org. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to gamers-ow...@audyssey.org.
