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unjapanologistTwo articles recently accepted for publication/presentation: "Why we should talk about commodifying fan work" will appear in Transformative Works and Cultures in November, and "Open source production as a model for commodification of derivative works" will be presented at the Asian Workshop on Cultural Economics, which is organized by the the Association of Cultural Economics Japan and takes place on November 27-28 this year, in Kyoto.
As the titles suggest, these two are very closely related, and I'm thrilled that they can be published more or less together. The TWC piece is the tl;dr version of the post I did yesterday about Keith Mander, and the open source paper is the even more tl;dr version of a footnote attached to the TWC piece. Both talk about the cultural economy of fanwork, but since each is written for a different crowd (fan studies people and cultural economics people), they have a somewhat different focus. The TWC text argues that commodification of fanworks may be inevitable, and why this could be a good thing for fandom. The open source text is basically a thinking exercise/tentative proposal about how "derivative" works such as fanworks could be commodified in practice, based on principles associated with open source production.
Abstracts:
Why we should talk about commodifying fan work (symposium piece, 2500 words)
Fan work's potential role in the cultural economy -in other words, its commodification- is an issue that has received little attention from fans and fan scholars. However, it seems increasingly inevitable that some form of commodification will happen in the future. Through considering the causes of this likely development and the reasons why it hasn't occurred so far, I argue that commodification of fan work can be a good thing for fandom, provided that initiatives are taken to ensure that this commodification happens on fannish terms.
Open source production as a model for commodification of derivative works (presentation and paper, about 5000 words)
Up to now, fan-created derivative works have been exchanged largely in sharing economies in most parts of the world. For various reasons, pressure is increasing to commodify these derivative cultural goods and let them play a role in the commercial economy as well. However, it is unclear exactly how the creators of these works could be compensated in monetary terms, while also reserving compensation for the creators of the source works on which fanworks are based. In this paper, I explore the possibilities for commodifying derivative amateur cultural products as “open source” cultural goods.
The economy surrounding open source software production has been described as a “hybrid” economy in which participants from the commercial economy work together with participants from a sharing economy. Open source production practices have proven to be a very popular model for creating hybrid economies in areas unrelated to software. The hybrid economy of open source software can provide scaffolding for other peer production-based hybrid economies because, through its philosophy and simply by example, it inspires alternatives to established systems -for instance, the established system for the production of cultural goods, a system that excludes derivative works.
Scholars from a remarkable variety of fields have already linked the production systems of derivative cultural goods such as fanwork to open source-based practices. Several researchers who have presented economic models for the commodification of derivative works propose that a system inspired by the production practices of open source software may be the most beneficial for derivative works creators and copyright holders alike. Beyond that, fanwork may have an important example function to fulfill for legal and economic systems trying to adapt to new technological realities. Although the influence of open source "philosophy" has now spread far beyond the area of software creation, cultural goods remain a conspicuous blank in many long lists of various "open" movements, not in the least because legal concerns make the creation of an "open source cultural good" difficult. Fanwork may be an ideal candidate for the title of "open source cultural good", not only because many characteristics of the fannish production practices are already highly comparable to those of open source, but also because fannish production practices have a history and practising community that is a perfect basis for supporting an open source-like system of production and commodification.
Open source and fannish production practices are similar, but not identical. However, because of their shared origins and characteristics, the vocabulary, problems, and solutions from one can help us articulate similar problems and possible solutions in the area of the other. I will examine how open source practices could be adapted to create legal, economic, and social conditions in which derivative cultural goods such as fanwork can be integrated into the broader cultural economy. I will also argue that this sort of commodification of derivative cultural goods would be beneficial, economically and socially, both for fanwork creators and for the companies whose media products fanworks are derived from.
As the titles suggest, these two are very closely related, and I'm thrilled that they can be published more or less together. The TWC piece is the tl;dr version of the post I did yesterday about Keith Mander, and the open source paper is the even more tl;dr version of a footnote attached to the TWC piece. Both talk about the cultural economy of fanwork, but since each is written for a different crowd (fan studies people and cultural economics people), they have a somewhat different focus. The TWC text argues that commodification of fanworks may be inevitable, and why this could be a good thing for fandom. The open source text is basically a thinking exercise/tentative proposal about how "derivative" works such as fanworks could be commodified in practice, based on principles associated with open source production.
Abstracts:
Why we should talk about commodifying fan work (symposium piece, 2500 words)
Fan work's potential role in the cultural economy -in other words, its commodification- is an issue that has received little attention from fans and fan scholars. However, it seems increasingly inevitable that some form of commodification will happen in the future. Through considering the causes of this likely development and the reasons why it hasn't occurred so far, I argue that commodification of fan work can be a good thing for fandom, provided that initiatives are taken to ensure that this commodification happens on fannish terms.
Open source production as a model for commodification of derivative works (presentation and paper, about 5000 words)
Up to now, fan-created derivative works have been exchanged largely in sharing economies in most parts of the world. For various reasons, pressure is increasing to commodify these derivative cultural goods and let them play a role in the commercial economy as well. However, it is unclear exactly how the creators of these works could be compensated in monetary terms, while also reserving compensation for the creators of the source works on which fanworks are based. In this paper, I explore the possibilities for commodifying derivative amateur cultural products as “open source” cultural goods.
The economy surrounding open source software production has been described as a “hybrid” economy in which participants from the commercial economy work together with participants from a sharing economy. Open source production practices have proven to be a very popular model for creating hybrid economies in areas unrelated to software. The hybrid economy of open source software can provide scaffolding for other peer production-based hybrid economies because, through its philosophy and simply by example, it inspires alternatives to established systems -for instance, the established system for the production of cultural goods, a system that excludes derivative works.
Scholars from a remarkable variety of fields have already linked the production systems of derivative cultural goods such as fanwork to open source-based practices. Several researchers who have presented economic models for the commodification of derivative works propose that a system inspired by the production practices of open source software may be the most beneficial for derivative works creators and copyright holders alike. Beyond that, fanwork may have an important example function to fulfill for legal and economic systems trying to adapt to new technological realities. Although the influence of open source "philosophy" has now spread far beyond the area of software creation, cultural goods remain a conspicuous blank in many long lists of various "open" movements, not in the least because legal concerns make the creation of an "open source cultural good" difficult. Fanwork may be an ideal candidate for the title of "open source cultural good", not only because many characteristics of the fannish production practices are already highly comparable to those of open source, but also because fannish production practices have a history and practising community that is a perfect basis for supporting an open source-like system of production and commodification.
Open source and fannish production practices are similar, but not identical. However, because of their shared origins and characteristics, the vocabulary, problems, and solutions from one can help us articulate similar problems and possible solutions in the area of the other. I will examine how open source practices could be adapted to create legal, economic, and social conditions in which derivative cultural goods such as fanwork can be integrated into the broader cultural economy. I will also argue that this sort of commodification of derivative cultural goods would be beneficial, economically and socially, both for fanwork creators and for the companies whose media products fanworks are derived from.
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