Subscription Services for Books

In today's "Whatever" blog entry, John Scalzi talks about his books and various subscription services. The short form is that he would want to see the money, first. Since his novels are controlled by a big-name publisher there would also need to be some money flowing to that publisher. The way the economics of these things work, it's probably a good deal for many self-published authors who are struggling to get noticed, but probably not a good deal for big names who already have a big house backing them. Streaming services for music, and the controversies around them, provide a cautionary tale.