Starting tomorrow at 12PM, eastern standard time, viewers of the show will be able to submit their own creations to the Game of Thrones Compendium, a collection of fanworks announced two weeks ago.
The Compendium gathers the best of the fan submissions, including art, music, crafts, photography and more, displaying some on the website. The very best are chosen by a panel of jurors (including Game of Owns‘ Zack Luye) for inclusion in a printed book. Details can be found in the website’s FAQ.
Some fans voiced concerns regarding the terms and conditions of participation in the Compendium, as the rights HBO retained over the work were initially very broad. Since those criticisms were made, HBO has extensively overhauled the section of terms dealing with the granting of rights to the creative works.
HBO also released this official statement on the matter:
HBO will not be exploring any opportunities to profit off the submitted works. The goal is only to showcase the creativity of Game of Thrones fans. To ease any concerns that may arise, we have altered the legal language to make this clear.
Under the current terms and conditions, creators will retain all ownership to their work, though they do waive the rights to profit from the Compendium. The terms and conditions have removed the words “unrestricted” and “in perpetuity,” which had been a valid cause for concern. The terms are considerably more specific and should make fans more comfortable in submitting, if they would like to be a part of the Game of Thrones Compendium.
So if HBO is not intending to profit from this are they going to price the book just to cover publishing and distribution expenses? If so then the book should be relatively affordable in the ~$5-$10 range
Sounds kind of sketchy. There will eventually *will* be profit. Who gets the money? Why lock the contributors out? Maybe I’m missing something, but why buy this book when you can search google or YouTube or instagram, etc.? Can someone explain the point of this to me?
Cersei’s Wine Goblet,
Well, legal issues aside, this probably will be a very nice collection of great fanworks. With randomly searching social networks, you’re going to have to search all the time- this is a highlights collection, to preserve good stuff. Not to mention some people don’t even really use computers much or engage in the online fandom, so this would be nice for fans who would pick up a book.
But yeah the ongoing money questions are sticky.
Honestly, I think most fans will be thrilled by simply being part of this book (I know I would). For me it seems like the people worried about them cashing and the contributors not recieving money are more worried abou the profit than the art themselves. We live in a predominantly capitalist world, people will find ways to profit from nearly everything, they (GOT) will probably have a financial return; that being said, if being part of an official book of a show/series/universe you love with amazing fan creations like this is not enough for you simply do not sumbit anything, they will surely be people that will.
“There are no plans to sell the book or other merchandise based on the work that is submitted”
So does this mean copies of the compedium will only be given to the authors of the chosen works? It will not be sold to the public?
Anyway, I do not care if HBO will profit off my work or not pay me anything. Attributing the work to me is enough. When I am passionate about something, I’m willing to work for it for free. The enjoyment that I get from creating the artwork or music is enough compensation.
When you post your works on the internet, it will be stolen and distributed for free anyway, even if you watermark it or put pay-first or no-right click script in your site. I’d rather have my GoT related work in an official fandom book.
Sue the Fury, RandomSand, Daphne,
I appreciate all your responses. Personally, it would eventually start to eat away at me if a big corporation was profiting from my intellectual property. I hope the contributors get something special, like access to premieres, swag, that sort of thing. Random Sand, I see it less as trying to capitalize and more about the little guy being taken advantage of by the big corporation, but I get what you are saying about the thrill of participation, too.
Thanks again for thoughtful responses.
Cersei’s Wine Goblet,
I totally agree on giving people some sort of gratification for their work, I just don’t think it is a must have (in this specific case, obviously) and that it has to be monetary. I think these adjustments they made on the wording of the conditions are exactaly to try to “hurt” people’s intellectual proprieties as little as possible. IMO free copy for theo nes who contributed would be a kind gesture on their part, but I may be expecting too much from such big corporation; still, it would be a very kind way to say “thank you”.
RandomSand,
Those chosen will indeed receive a free copy of the book.
How much can I get for this?
http://i.picasion.com/resize79/3021a0ebc75a9fd87032f03b9d1f05aa.jpg
Hear Marko Roar,
Oh, dumb me. I read all those thig on the site when it was lauched, I must have forgotten part of it.
Cersei’s Wine Goblet,
By the way, on a reread of my first coment I come across as quite rude and bitchy, I apologize for that, perks of the internet comunication I guess… Anyways, sorry for that, it was not my intention.
Won’t be buying if Arthur Chu is on the jury.
RandomSand,
No worries, but thanks for saying so. I’ve been reading message board and text messages long enough to know that things don’t always come across as intended. 😉
So, apparently I can’t participate since I don’t live in one of four listed countries. But, good luck to you all.
This seems to be similar to those “become a published poet!” services, where they will basically accept and print whatever and then make you pay to see what you wrote in print. Or are they actually going to be selective?