

How to be a packager - bdfh42
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/06/how-to-be-a-book-packager.html

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smanek
I was with him until "As the agent of change, you deserve the lion's share of
the revenue."

All he was doing was introducing people to each other. He didn't produce the
content, he didn't distribute the product, and he didn't front the money for
the investment. All he really risked was some time, same as everyone else
involved.

He served an important role, and deserves to be compensated well. But to claim
that he deserves the lion's share of revenue seems ridiculous.

~~~
imp
These ventures wouldn't have happened at all without his work. Without him,
the producers and distributors would have $0 (extra). With him, they get > $0.
So if he can find a way to put more cash in their pocket, I don't see why he
can't charge whatever he wants. He also says it takes 3 - 5 years to really
get into it, so it sounds like it takes significant work and experience to
connect these companies.

~~~
smanek
Your claim only makes sense if everyone else involved sat around idly during
the time that they would have been working on the project he 'packaged.' I
seriously doubt that would be the case.

Obviously the project Seth proposed provided some marginal benefit over their
normal work - and he is entitled to the lion share of that marginal profit he
generates. I just don't buy that marginal profit he generates comes close to
approaching the total revenue of the package.

It's the exact same as me claiming the content producer is entitled to the
lion's share of all revenue - since without him there would be none. If people
weren't working on this content producer's project, they would be working on
something else with someone else.

~~~
imp
Sure, you're right. There is work involved by everyone else as well. I guess I
was oversimplifying.

For content producers getting the lion's share, I think it depends on the
situation. There are definitely some untalented pop artists these days that
are only popular because of their producer's distribution. In those cases, the
producer probably should get the lion's share.

Ultimately, it comes down to market forces. If people are willing to pay Seth
what he charges to do the packaging, then who are we to say what is fair? If
he charged too much then they either wouldn't do it or would hire someone full
time to do packaging for them. If his advice to newbies is to charge a lot
then it must work.

------
thunk
This looks to me like an area that could benefit from some automated
infrastructure.

