distribution

I don't know how many people this will relate to, but for any mid-size magazine publishers who deal with a distributor called RetailVision, this is some infuriating news.

RV is the exclusive distributor to stores that include FYE, Strawberries, Coconuts, Wherehouse Music, and all other chains owned by Tranworld Media. They also supply many independent retailers across the US through their indie media program.

I have experimented with their programs utilizing both their chain and indie store distribution. Each chainstore takes $2 per issue, and each indie store takes a one-time $15 setup fee (for "purchasing a pocket" for each new title) in addition to their percentage.

indieWIRE has an interesting article written by Brian Newman of NVR (National Video Resources, media granting arm of the Rockefeller Foundation) on the reasons behind the decline of nonprofit membership organizations for independent film and media. A lot of the points, taken separately, seem like pretty common sense stuff, but taken as a whole they present a very cogent picture of where and why certain strategies fail and others work. Don't miss the comments, either. They're all really insightful, and will give you an idea of the bigger picture behind the support structure for the independent film community. A compellingly odd take on why people are choosing DIY.

http://www.indiewire.com/biz/2006/03/first_person_br.html

No, he hasn't been locked up, pulled over, or buried under a collapsed bookshelf of "Understanding Comics."

Scott McCloud is giving away parts 1 & 2 of his graphic novel "The Right Number" here, and intends to put part 3 alongside them when it's completed.

Web comics are nothing new (in fact, I also have an unfinished graphic novel online-- as I'm assuming do most people who have ever dipped their feet in that pond) and they're especially not new to McCloud, who was one of the earliest comic artists to seize the internet for his own devices (and, because he's Scott McCloud and has always done things with a bigger picture than himself in mind, the devices of the entire comics community).

But what's really interesting to me is that before giving it away, McCloud tried a micropayments distribution system to get it out there.