Jun 12, 2023
catching up on the penumbra podcast. did you all know that the first wave of fiction podcasts is still good. did you also know that peter nureyev has the horniest character design known to man.
seen from Finland
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catching up on the penumbra podcast. did you all know that the first wave of fiction podcasts is still good. did you also know that peter nureyev has the horniest character design known to man.
I'm really interested in your thoughts about the monetization of art - would you mind elaborating a little on what you mean and any examples you have in mind?
This is a really interesting question. Thank you!
To be completely clear from the first: I do not believe there is anything morally wrong with artists receiving compensation for their creative work. Artists deserve living wages and competitive pay.
The onset of NFTs, self-publishing, booktok etc have provided an influx of new avenues for artists to pursue art in a way that provides them with an income. again: that is not inherently bad. in some cases, such as female singer-songerwriter VÉRITÉ, making NFTs with her music provides a way to create a sustainable fanbase and also allows her to maintain more control over her music (in contrast to the traditional record-label route).
My sister-in-law quit her day job and now owns an Etsy shop, where she specializes in calligraphy. She also dabbles in digital art, which she manages via blockchain, and has investigated making her prints NFTs in the future. Theoretically, this is great! She has control over her work and these technologies help prevent fraud & plagiarism.
Self-publishing platforms -- KDP, Vella, etc -- let people like me format, distribute, and sell original writing. Amazing! Being compensated from my literal blood, sweat, and tears!
All of the flaws I could point out in these few examples come back to a singular issue: no one can truly own art, not even the artist.
There have been so many instances of an NFT being reproduced at a mass level despite it being "non fungible." (Oh, and the environmental impact of NFTs is something I never hear the techbros talking about?). Self publishing platforms often make you sign away the rights to your work, or have a clause in the agreement that stipulates they can decided to change their TOS at anytime and give themselves the right to steal your work (or you can't publish it elsewhere, etc etc). Reposting art across social media platforms is rampant: even if you are the op, the artist, the gifmaker, your integrity is never guaranteed.
How does that fit into monetization? It's now SO easy to decide to post your fic on Vella. Or self publish on Kindle. Or become a #booktokfluencer (idk I don't use Tiktok) or write Substack's next greatest think piece. Creating is not a bad thing. Making money from your art is not a bad thing. But when those two begin to be equated (i make money therefore i create; i create therefore i make money): that is when the issue arises. What was once art & play becomes content, and I don't use that word lightly. Content to be consumed, to be uploaded, to be made -- not to be created. It becomes a side hustle, not a creative practice.
While side hustles, like monetization of art, are not inherently bad, I worry about the future of the arts in our culture. We have allowed art to become capitalist and transactional, rather than genuinely valuing art (and therefore paying artists) and permitting it to be transformational.
HTK's twitter thread is. uh.
Can hardly wait for Juno Steel to go thru his Qrow Branwen v8/v9 arc
Confession: even if I like the juniverse more, I’m still far more interested in what’s happening with the second citadel next season
I like the juniverse better bc it is my genre kryptonite but second citadel is one of the most unique and bold fantasy podcasts I’ve seen so far and is underrated
fiction podcasts I've tried so far sort of sorted but don't take it too seriously since a lot of these ranks are similar, or different podcasts are good at different things:
1. Mission to Zyxx: This podcast is pretty much top-tier in everything it does, from the audio editing, character development, SOUND DESIGN, soundtrack, voice acting, comedy chops, and even keeping its extensive scifi lore straight as an improvised podcast. Literally cannot say enough good things about this show. Going to end after this season but considering it's 5 seasons it's a solid run.
2. The Penumbra (Juniverse): To be clear, I love second citadel too, but this ONLY wins over it because I love the mystery genre to bits and that gives this an unfair advantage. The cast all has so much heart, and Juno's story resonates like no other. Also, major props for something pretty queer-focused and in the tumblr podcast sphere having a pretty middle aged cast. Also just. Juno means so much to me. Probably the protagonist who I like the best out of all of this.
3. The Penumbra (Second Citadel): UNIQUE! FANTASY! STORY! SETTING! Does relatively well with its ensemble cast and has done pretty well with plot escalation and deescalation and now reescalation. Its characters are charming, and despite being fantasy, it's very topical. Love it and its charm to bits and pieces. Wildly undervalued.
4. We Fix Space Junk: This podcast is so my jam. It has a cast that's large enough to be interesting but small enough for the characters to all feel like they have focus. It's a more unique twist on the Capitalist Dystopia In Space and the villains appear to be staying bastards while also becoming more relatable. Also, the fact that the rich heiress influencer joins a scrappy and down-to-earth repairwoman and the plot of the first season isn't just hijinks about the heiress screwing shit up is really nice. A comedy podcast which doesn't rely entire on ha-has to keep itself going.
5. Starship Iris: Honestly, this podcast is really fun. Women main characters! Multiple! From the outset! That's not all this is but it's what drew me in. I ended up staying for the heartfelt character moments, the ability of this podcast to just breathe for a second, the realistic space travel parameters, the setup of Dwarnian society in general, the emphasis on self-care? [chef's kiss]. Homey without being boring.
6. Alba Salix, Royal Physician (main storyline): A fun, heartwarming fantasy podcast about the shenanigans of some physician apprentices/assistants and the poor, long-suffering Alba. I love the fact that we're slowly getting royal politics more integrated and THAT SEASON FINALE THOUGH.
7. Mission Rejected: I really like this one too, and it snuck up on me. Definitely has the premise of "crew of misfits" that a lot of these podcasts do, but you end up getting reeled in by the characters. Raises the stakes well while keeping the wackiness of the original premise and also having the characters succeed slightly more.
8. Superstition: Another Detective Podcast, currently on what seems to be indefinite hiatus. Very tied to its small-town southwest charm and spookiness. Seems to put effort into representing the area as diversely as it should be and incorporating that into the fabric of the story. Also getting sort of into what I think is paranormal-meets-sorta-magical-realism and I dig it so hard. Also, I'm a sucker for the relationship between the MC and love interest in this one. Yes, they're wlw and it's great. This one's also worth mentioning for multiple women.
9. Inn Between: Literally just started today and am about 3/4 of the way through s1 but I love its little take on fantasy and the focus on the relationship of the party. I'm now caught up, and boy howdy does this hit you in the feelings during Season 2.v also like the little fourth-wall digs and how it lampshades them being the protags All The Damn Time. Are they in a dnd game and don't know it? Is the sentient tavern actually just guiding them? Who knows? There's also a Season 3 following a different cast of characters, but the stories are still connected so I'm categorizing them together for now. I'm still warming up to the new crew but I'm hoping to get more attached in Season 4.
10. Alba Salix, Royal Physician (The Axe & Crown): Still a funny and heartwarming podcast, the comedy is just somewhat different from the main story and I'm a touch less invested.
11. The Amelia Project: I've heard this gets good and honestly this is a pretty quaint and fun podcast but I've struggled to get into it so far. I've heard good things about s3 tho so I'm probably going to push through.
12. Station to Station: This podcast is cool and good but maybe it's bc I was listening on 1.5x speed while multitasking but I didn't love the pacing. The characters were fun though and I do love the "vessel in the middle of the ocean" setting and the premise of the plot.
Lady, but in a Juno Steel sort of way