Transcription
Fan-Fiction Overview
Fan-Fiction Historical Context: FromStar Trek To Fifty Shades Of Grey Fan-fiction is an original work created by fans that feature characters, plots, settings,etc. from their favorite established entertainment franchises (books, TV shows,movies and comics). Fan-fiction traces its roots back to Star Trek fanzines (fanzines were sold at sci-ficonventions or mailed to fellow fans) Proliferation of fan-fiction correlated with the advent of the internet, which allowedfan-fiction stories to be easily published and disseminated To-date, fan-fiction platforms have been mostly non-commercial and unauthorized Fifty Shades of Grey began as Twilight fan-fiction; pulled from sites and re-written asoriginal work in order to unlock its value – now sold more than 100 million copies.
Fan-Fiction Traditionally Released Through NonCommercial Platforms Like FanFiction.net FanFiction.net is an automated fan-fiction archive site (launched in 1998) At one point the largest aggregator of fan-fiction in the world (4.1M unique visitorsas of Nov. 2013) Users register and post original fan-fiction stories based on popular, existingfranchises Site contains terms of service and requires users to have appropriate copyrights topost fan-fiction stories, but the site does not conduct its own review process FanFiction.net generally “publishes” any and all stories submitted to its platform Commercial use of “published” stories is prohibited (authors can’t monetize works)
Top 10 Fandoms on FanFiction.NetFandomCategory# Of StoriesPublished Harry PotterBooks654,257 NarutoAnime340,476 TwilightBooks211,760 InuYashaAnime109,114 GleeTV Show97,233 Hetalia: Axis PowersAnime91,933 SupernaturalTV Show82,808 BleachAnime74,335 Kingdom HeartsGame69,710 PokemonAnime64,034Note: figures as of August 2013
Overview Of Kindle Worlds:Amazon’s Fan-Fiction Platform Commercial fan-fiction publishing platform launched in June 2013 Enables fans (“writers”) to legally create and publish fan-fiction stories inspired bypopular books, shows, movies, comics, music and games (known as “Worlds”) Fans develop works that use characters, scenes, events, themes and plots associated withlicensed “Worlds” Amazon has created a dedicated section of Kindle Store to sell these stories Currently only available for purchase in e-book format This platform legitimizes fan-fiction and gives the fans the ability to commercially exploitthe stories they create (and legally share in economic upside)
Relationship Between Rights Holder & Amazon & Fan-Fiction Author1 Fan-fiction authors agree toadhere to content guidelinesRights Holder Rights holder grants Amazon theexclusive right to allow fans to createworks based on elements fromlicensed Worlds Amazon may sell each new story forthe duration of the copyrightFan-FictionAuthor Amazon pays fan-fiction authors aroyalty of 35% net revenue forworks that are 10,000 words orlonger, and 20% for shorter works.26
Kindle Worlds Success To-DateOverview Of Kindle Worlds To Date Amazon has licensed rights to large number of Worlds Originally launched with three Alloy Worlds Successful Worlds are those with an ardent fan-base Amazon licenses additional worlds on ongoing basis Any fan can participate7
Kindle Worlds: How Consumers Get ThereKindle Worlds Is Featured On Amazon.comKey Elements Of Consumer Experience Fan-Fiction stories available for purchase in the KindleStore via Amazon.com, Kindle devices / apps Prices range from .99 to 3.99 Kindle Worlds may also drive audience to purchaserelated library content from affiliated Worlds (i.e. books,DVDs, EST)Kindle Worlds Digital Store8
Kindle Worlds: How Fan-Fiction Authors ParticipateKindle Worlds Home ScreenGetting Started Select one of licensed Worlds Accept content guidelines specific to World(sample on following page) Accept Kindle World Publication AgreementRegister As Author And Submit ManuscriptManuscript Upload Tool Create author’s account to set up royalty payments Upload manuscript, design eBook cover (limited toapproved, agreed upon images)Kindle Worlds Reviews Submitted Manuscripts Kindle Worlds internally reviews manuscripts If accepted, story is published on Kindle Worlds If rejected, manuscript is returned to author forediting9
Kindle Worlds Requires Authors To Adhere To Specific Content Guidelines Fan-Fiction authors must adhere to contentguidelines Each World may have its own, unique guidelines(One of the weirder rules, set by Hasbro forbidsG.I. Joe fan-fiction writers from portraying thecharacter Snake Eyes as a Yankees fan.)10
World Guidelines And Limitations Of ScopeScope Of License /Limitations To World May be limited to subset of official cannon e.g. World includes the official books, but not theTV show based on the books. Stories must be based on themes and plots appearing in aforementioned content All submitted fan-fiction is reviewed by Amazon’s automated review systemMonitoring Fan-FictionContent Content that is flagged by system is manually reviewed After manual inspection, content is either published or rejected Rights holder may have take-down rightsCommunicatingContent Guidelines Guidelines can be complicated, but goal is to communicate Worlds likely excludecrossovers into other Worlds Worlds likely exclude crossovers into other Worlds Rights holder may identify key words that signify elements from non-approved derivativeworks11
Presence On Kindle Worlds PlatformFosters Multiple Strategic Benefits Greatly enhances the reach and relevance of franchises New mechanism to monetize already visible franchises Method to extend franchises by creating new, fresh stories Create deeper, more interactive relationship with established fan base Leverage popularity of fan-fiction and Kindle Worlds to reach new fans Reinvigorate and enhance value of franchise’s catalog of existing content
One Last Perspective On Fan-Fiction–“Fan fiction is what literature might look like if it were reinvented from scratch after anuclear apocalypse by a band of brilliant pop-culture junkies trapped in a sealedbunker. They don't do it for money. That's not what it's about. The writers write it andput it up online just for the satisfaction. They're fans, but they're not silent, couchbound consumers of media. The culture talks to them, and they talk back to the culturein its own language.”– -Lev Grossman, TIME Magazine, July 18, 2011
Slides byMatt BloomgardenVP, Business & Legal AffairsAlloy Entertainment // Warner Bros. Televisionmbloomgarden@alloyentertainment.com
fan-fiction stories to be easily published and disseminated To-date, fan-fiction platforms have been mostly non-commercial and unauthorized Fifty Shades of Grey began as Twilight fan-fiction; pulled from sites and re-written as original work in order to unlock its value – now sold more than 100 million copies.
