Should readers get permission to make podfic?

[jesse_the_k]

While I just argued that the act of podficcing adds "fannish value" to a work, I'm unsure that readers must obtain an OK from the writer to make a recording.

Since I'm a newbie, I did some research. While I don't think it's possible for a podfic to fundamentally change a source in the same way, I started with remixes, since there's the same "permission" issue there. It seems most remix challenges are based on a mutual remix: by participating in writing, each fan also permits their work to be remixed (with one "safe" work held inviolate).

The Fanlore Wiki told me:

 begin quote 
Though remixing in both fanfiction and vidding has become enormously popular, not all fans embrace the concept. [... snip ...] Though some fans feel any story is fair game for remixing, others believe that permission should be gained from the author first before using their work as a jumping-off point. Many fans feel it's hypocritical to reuse the original creations of the copyright holders in the canon while protesting that anyone should be allowed to remake their fanworks.
 quote ends 

Current metadata don't state whether the podfic's reader has the writer's permission. Would the absence, permission or refusal of writer's OK change how you'd choose or read podfics?

Comments

[darkemeralds]

As someone with a small presence in all three overlapping spheres here--writer, reader and listener--I can say that

a) I wouldn't mind someone podficcing my work with or without permission, though I imagine it would be nice to be asked

b)permission isn't a criterion I use in choosing which fic to listen to

c) I do ask and get author permission before recording something because I think it's a nice thing to do and I like the somewhat collaborative feeling of being able to consult with the author about (for instance) musical element.

[zvi]

If you would be okay with people podficcing your written stories, have you made a note to that effect wherever you are archiving your stories?

[inalasahl]

Where do podficcers look for that information? Or where should people be posting it? In the author's note of every story? In one's journal userinfo? On the author's page of one's favorite archive? The home page of one's website?

[zvi]

jinjur was the person who suggested it, and I believe she suggested it in four places (or at least, I put it in three of those places, and assume she mentioned the fourth.)

1) Journal profile
2) Fanlore editor profile
3) AO3 profile (or, presumably, all of the profiles for any fic archives which provide profiles; e-fiction archives typically have them)
4) And I assume on one's general website, although, since I yanked my fic from my website, I never added a permissions statement there.

And I just added it as the custom text box on my journal posting comm, so it'll appear on every story read there, so long as you keep my style.

I do not know if podficcers are actually looking for such statements or not. When I've spotted such statements in the wild (I don't usually do secondary fanwork, so I haven't gone looking) they've either been on people's journal profiles or their websites.