{"id":2010,"date":"2016-03-14T07:46:50","date_gmt":"2016-03-14T14:46:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/?p=2010"},"modified":"2016-03-14T07:46:50","modified_gmt":"2016-03-14T14:46:50","slug":"no-more-pocket-versions-of-to-kill-a-mockingbird","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2016\/03\/no-more-pocket-versions-of-to-kill-a-mockingbird\/","title":{"rendered":"No more pocket versions of To Kill A Mockingbird"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/harper-lee.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-2012\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-2012\" src=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/harper-lee-300x223.jpg\" alt=\"Boo\" width=\"300\" height=\"223\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/harper-lee-300x223.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/harper-lee.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>The estate of Harper Lee has decided to end its relationship with Hachette publishers, which was licensed through HarperCollins to produce a mass-market paperback edition of <em>To Kill A Mockingbird<\/em>. HarperCollins will continue to produce a trade paperback version. See these reports from <em><a href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/article\/131400\/mass-market-edition-kill-mockingbird-dead\">The New Republic<\/a><\/em> and <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/books\/2016\/mar\/14\/harper-lee-estate-blocks-kill-a-mockingbird-us-paperback-edition-hachette\">The Guardian<\/a><\/em>. Since the author only died this year, under <em>current<\/em> law the novel would not enter the public domain until 2086, though the duration of copyright tends to get longer rather than shorter with each revision, and so even that date cannot be depended on. School districts buy lots of mass market copies, and so that will be a big budget hit for them.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ll leave it to others to discuss the ethics of the case. But does the decision make <em>economic<\/em> sense? After all, we teach that price discrimination can be a way for firms in the arts (commercial and non-profit) to increase revenue at the same time as making lower-priced options available for the more price-sensitive consumers. True, but there are limits. Suppose you have the option of producing hard-cover (usually around $25), trade paperback (usually around $14), and mass-market paperback editions (usually around $7) of a novel. You know there is a small market for the hard-cover version, for people buying gifts or who simply want to have &#8216;the best.&#8217; The trade paperback will be for those readers not so interested in the hard-cover. So offer at least those two versions. But what of the mass-market version? The problem is that it might be seen by buyers as <em>too close<\/em> a substitute for the trade paperback. Seen side-by-side in a bookshop, customers who would have been willing to buy the trade paperback pick up the cheaper mass-market version &#8211; the small difference in quality does not justify paying the big difference in price between the two versions. And so eliminating the mass-market version can be a profitable move.\u00a0This is not uncommon &#8211; I don&#8217;t think you can find new mass-market copies of Hemingway either. Managers in other arts fields are familiar with this issue: fine to &#8216;scale the house&#8217; for your show, but you can&#8217;t maintain big price differences if the quality difference between seating areas does not justify it in the minds of ticket-buyers.<\/p>\n<p>And so, yes, the move can be a sensible one from the estate&#8217;s point of view.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The estate of Harper Lee has decided to end its relationship with Hachette publishers, which was licensed through HarperCollins to produce a mass-market paperback edition of To Kill A Mockingbird. HarperCollins will continue to produce a trade paperback version. See these reports from The New Republic and The Guardian. Since the author only died this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2012,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2010","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-issues","8":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/harper-lee.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3dIW5-wq","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2148,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2016\/12\/childrens-books\/","url_meta":{"origin":2010,"position":0},"title":"Children&#8217;s books","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"December 2, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"It's an evergreen story: great books are removed from a school's library because a few parents have complained about their being unsuitable for children. Today it's two American classics: To Kill a Mockingbird, and the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. From Reason: Marie Rothstein-Williams, a white parent of a biracial high\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;issues&quot;","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"you know who else wanted to control what children read?","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Plato-raphael.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Plato-raphael.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Plato-raphael.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":522,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2013\/03\/on-google-and-why-price-discrimination-is-good-for-consumers\/","url_meta":{"origin":2010,"position":1},"title":"On Google, and why price discrimination is good for consumers","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"March 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Paul Krugman writes about the decision by Google to shut down Google Reader. Whatever your thoughts on the good or evil nature of Google, he raises an important issue for thinking about price discrimination: there are cases where, if no price discrimination is possible, such that the seller can only\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;issues&quot;","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"need to price discriminate","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Krugman-price-discrimination-300x171.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":469,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2013\/03\/self-publishing-and-the-theology-of-free\/","url_meta":{"origin":2010,"position":2},"title":"Self-publishing and the theology of free","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"March 13, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Artsjournal.com links today to a story from Publishers Weekly at SXSW on self-publishing and the \"theology of free.\" But what exactly is this theology? Called Self-Publishing in the Age of E, Deahl\u2019s panel featured bestselling self (and now conventionally) published novelist Hugh Howey, author of the bestselling sci-fi series Wool,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;issues&quot;","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"write for free?","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/writer.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1683,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2014\/11\/price-discrimination-and-timing\/","url_meta":{"origin":2010,"position":3},"title":"Price discrimination and timing","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"November 6, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Publishers delay the release of paperback versions of books as a means of price discrimination. 'Strong' customer markets pay the premium price for the immediately available hardcover, while 'weak' customer markets pay the lower price for the paperback, which is inferior in two ways: less sturdy binding, and you have\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 4 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 4 comments","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2014\/11\/price-discrimination-and-timing\/#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"this is going to cost you","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/1989-playlist-297x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":626,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2013\/04\/how-quality-differentials-work\/","url_meta":{"origin":2010,"position":4},"title":"How quality differentials work","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"April 7, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"It is standard practice to offer to customers a range of quality levels. In clothing, electronics, and cars we see firms offer a range of products as a means of price discrimination: some customers are on a budget, or don't care so much about the luxury of the item, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;issues&quot;","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"only rock and roll","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Rolling-Stones-live-1972-300x227.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1458,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2014\/08\/amazon-and-orwell-and-penguins\/","url_meta":{"origin":2010,"position":5},"title":"Amazon and Orwell and Penguins (Updated)","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"August 12, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"By now most everyone who follows artsjournal.com and the Amazon dispute has heard of its strange use of George Orwell in its (shockingly mishandled) dispute with the publishing sector. The New York Times reports: The freshest part of Amazon\u2019s call to arms was the history lesson. It recounted how the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;issues&quot;","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"weapons of mass destruction?","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/penguin-books.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/penguin-books.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/penguin-books.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2010"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2010\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2014,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2010\/revisions\/2014"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}