Authors are now publishing their own books without a publisher. And some artists are releasing free audiobooks online, making money just like Radiohead or shareware software authors: via that old standby, The Tip Jar. You, the consumer, pay what you think is fair. The artist keeps every cent (or the vast majority of it) without the usual tangled mess of shady characters each taking ‘their cut’.Pretty good for everyone around, eh?Well … it has been so far. But over the last week, Amazon.com announced something rather startling. All Print-On-Demand authors are now required to have their books printed through Amazon exclusively — or they will no longer enjoy a Buy Now button on Amazon.com.

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