The analogy is wrong because traditional publishing produces many copies of the same artwork and they must be sold to recover the printing costs, etc., before a profit can be had. But with traditional artmaking the procedure is to produce one of a kind (except prints, but those are in few copies). There's no need to offer artworks to a mass audience and to incur the costs of mass marketing.
Back to publishing. The fast growth in digital readers and the print on demand option will certainly revolutionize publishing. It should drive down the costs of mass market books, much like the paperback did decades ago. But I suspect then the market for finely published books will increase, and so will their costs. They will be more like prints or very limited edition books. When are you going to get it into your head that mass marketing and art marketing are not the same endeavor? You can't keep on measuring one by the standards of the other. That's marketing 101. Your bill is $40,000. about what one course in a research university really costs. wc ----- Original Message ---- From: joseph berg <[email protected]> To: aesthetics-l <[email protected]> Sent: Fri, December 10, 2010 6:20:38 PM Subject: "A vital [arts?] industry must be able take chances with new [artists?] and with [works of art?] that donbt have obvious mass-market appeal. When mega-retailers have all the power in the industry, consumers benefit from low prices, but the effect on - A vital [arts?] industry must be able take chances with new [artists?] and with [works of art?] that dont have obvious mass-market appeal. When mega-retailers have all the power in the industry, consumers benefit from low prices, but the effect on the future of [art?]on what [works of art?] can be [marketed?] successfullyis far more in doubt. Isn't the arts industry becoming like publishing?: - A vital publishing industry must be able take chances with new authors and with books that dont have obvious mass-market appeal. When mega-retailers have all the power in the industry, consumers benefit from low prices, but the effect on the future of literatureon what books can be published successfullyis far more in doubt. http://www.bostonreview.net/BR35.6/roychoudhuri.php <http://www.bostonreview.net/BR35.6/roychoudhuri.php>
