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    jrdnstryHamilton Nolan
    9/29/14 9:56am

    What is going on with this trend in the US of people not wanting to pay you for you work, especially in the media and entertainment field? I'm sorry networking and exposure does not pay the bills. I work to live, not live to work.

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      Gary-Xjrdnstry
      9/29/14 10:02am

      It's one of the greatest contradictions of American capitalism: paying someone for work is the centerpiece of how our system is supposed to function except for paying you because hey, you have to get your foot in the door somehow, right? This is an opportunity!

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      Bigjackjrdnstry
      9/29/14 10:03am

      you should be asking what's up with people willing to work for free.

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    benjaminalloverHamilton Nolan
    9/29/14 10:03am

    I wouldn't want to be the publisher here. They would need one in every ten viewers of the television show to buy the book in order to break even. They've got to hype the shit out of this.

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      You might be wrong.benjaminallover
      9/29/14 10:52am

      TV shows, especially premium cable shows, have a lot more people that watch them than they have "viewers" according to the ratings. People pirate HBO shows, they relatively rarely pirate books. Book publishers also sell their properties to other companies in other territories and don't have to worry about how they sell there.

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      benjaminalloverYou might be wrong.
      9/29/14 11:02am

      It's possible that she has more than 4.7 million viewers/episode, but if those people won't pay for the show what makes you think thy'll pay for a book? Professional authors, one of whom she is not, have a hard time selling books these days, and those authors' fan base is readers, not young t.v. watchers. It better be really well reviewed or they could end up taking a bath.

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    bobcephalusHamilton Nolan
    9/29/14 10:10am

    This isn't unusual or unfair. It's good she solicited independent artists to open for her and is providing them, with her own visibility, a wider audience than they could pull on their own. They aren't traveling with her or otherwise paying out of pocket to perform. She would sell the same amount of tickets without an opener. If you went to a book tour I'm pretty sure you would never turn to your neighbor in the audience and say "hey, who is the opener for this?" From an arts perspective this is a pretty great thing, and it probably couldn't happen if she had a salary for an opener written into the contract. This isn't the superbowl asking for a cut of the revenue that their half time artists get in the year following the performance. These people perform for free probably way more than they perform for pay. It's not a CEO demanding that a union agree to wage cuts. The arts have always and will always count the ability to increase your draw and opportunity to sell merchandise as a form of equity.

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      johnnyreasonablebobcephalus
      9/29/14 10:16am

      So what? She's a fucking millionaire who is netting $300k JUST FROM TICKETS TO THE BOOK TOUR WHICH IS TO PROMOTE A BOOK SHE IS GOING TO SELL FOR $28 SO SHE CAN MAKE HER PUBLISHER BACK THE $3.7 MILLION DOLLARS THEY GAVE HER TO WRITE IT. Anyone who isn't a complete fucking asshole might find a way to budget, I don't know, $1,000 per show for the entertainment that you apparently value in some way if you are USING IT TO SELL A FUCKING BOOK. Seriously, you don't understand why someone should be paid when they're being used in a promotion to sell a fucking book?

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      Mike_Smithjohnnyreasonable
      9/29/14 10:22am

      Apparently, at least 600 people disagree with you - the ones who voluntarily, without being forced at gunpoint or anything, showed up for the open call.

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    Pop SocketHamilton Nolan
    9/29/14 9:57am

    Selling tickets to a book signing is a trend I don't appreciate. I usually buy the book from the sponsoring retailer at full price which strikes me as more than high enough cover fee, so to speak.

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      NopeNopeNopePop Socket
      9/29/14 10:10am

      If there is just a signing, then yeah, the price of book should get you in. But for a talk, I'll pay more, just as I would pay a ticket to hear someone else speak who wasn't hawking their stuff.

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      eelskinbootsPop Socket
      9/29/14 12:52pm

      I assume part of the ticket price is to hire a hall, with support staff, and to cover the costs of processing the tickets necessary for someone who will draw a big crowd. When a bookstore charges, I feel ripped off. When the writer speaks at a rented hall for $15 or so, I don't. But $38 is a lot by any standard. Maybe they want to ensure that only the most fanatical fans get in?

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    showbiz2Hamilton Nolan
    9/29/14 9:53am

    So basically she hired, ironically for a millennial, unpaid interns. And people say she hasn't gone Hollywood.

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      Bitch Puddingshowbiz2
      9/29/14 9:59am

      ...Not a single person has ever said that.

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      SolongeFarewellshowbiz2
      9/29/14 10:00am

      She's not an outsider and she never has been. She was born into the upper class and has never spent a minute of her life where she was not fully integrated into their lifestyle, has never questioned their values aside from feeling like she is owed something because she feels like she should be tall and skinny. There's nothing ironic about it.

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    Jack FeerickHamilton Nolan
    9/29/14 9:56am

    Amanda Palmer, call your office.

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      NopeNopeNopeJack Feerick
      9/29/14 10:07am

      I was just about to say, looks like she took a page from someone's Fucking book regarding how to treat artists...

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      rmric0.wedding.photographerJack Feerick
      9/29/14 10:22am

      At least Amanda Palmer offered payment in hug form.

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    Mike_SmithHamilton Nolan
    9/29/14 9:53am

    Meh. Nobody held a gun to their heads. Apparently they think this is worth their time, even without being paid. It's good exposure, for one thing.

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      RussianistMike_Smith
      9/29/14 9:58am

      They'll get even more exposure this winter when they can't pay the rent (unless, like Dunham and unpaid media industry interns, they have wealthy and connected parents).

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      AnarchyOfTasteMike_Smith
      9/29/14 10:09am

      Pretty much.

      No one has the right to make money doing performance art. If your performance is worthy of a pay-check, then find some people willing to pay you to perform. Otherwise, your art is your hobby, and no one should feel obligated to subsidize it.

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    NopeNopeNopeHamilton Nolan
    9/29/14 10:11am

    Once again, Harlan Ellison has to be the voice of reason.

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      thechadbakerNopeNopeNope
      9/29/14 10:36am

      He's right, but he's still an asshole.

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      NopeNopeNopethechadbaker
      9/29/14 10:58am

      Not one single bit of disagreement.

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    festivusaziliHamilton Nolan
    9/29/14 10:00am

    It's amazing how lax some fairly liberal people can get with minimum wage laws when it comes to their own hires.

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      gilbertkittensHamilton Nolan
      9/29/14 9:59am

      Lena Dunham is the new MTV (as anyone who ever had their music licensed by MTV would know)!

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        jrfunkensteingilbertkittens
        9/29/14 10:08am

        You mean she's embracing how overrated and irrelevant she is?

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        gilbertkittensjrfunkenstein
        9/29/14 11:23am

        That and the way that MTV pays you zero dollars for the privilege of being associated with them.

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