The Fanzine Conglomerate

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Title:	The Fanzine Conglomerate
Creator:	Sharon Emily
Date(s):	February 1976
Medium:	print
Fandom:	Star Trek: TOS-centric, but also other fandoms
Topic:
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The Fanzine Conglomerate is a 1976 essay by Sharon Emily.

It was printed in Southern Star #2.

It is a proposal for fanzine editors and sellers to band together to buy tables at cons, specifically at "ISTC/International Star Trek Convention. Emily could be referring to the Star Trek Lives! series of cons, which had ceased in January 1976, or Schuster Star Trek Conventions, which began in February 1976.

This proposal would allow zine eds and sellers to not have to pay as much money to Paramount in licensing fees as well as allow them to attend more of the con events instead of keeping watch over their dealer tables.

If 10 or 20 fanzine editors get together to form the Conglomerate, we could all chip in and buy a couple of tables without having to pawn our assets; and those tables would be in the main Dealer's Room.

[...]

This proposal is not unique - no doubt other editors have thought of it before. However, with fees of nearly $100.00 per table for good locations, something has to be done, and if we can put these thoughts into operation, this might be a solution.

From the Essay

One of the biggest problems of selling fanzines at a large convention such as The International Star Trek Convention is the price the dealer has to pay just to be able to sell. ISTC's tables are priced well out of the reach of most fan dealers; not to mention that having one third of a table which is stuck in an anteroom can lose a lot of potential sales - yet, that is all many of us can afford. On top of that is the basic license from Paramount costing 25.00, plus 10% of sales to Paramount, plus 8% sales tax to New York, which takes a big slice out of sales, and makes fan dealing almost prohibitive.

It is illogical to go to a convention and then have to sit at the dealer's table for the entire time selling fanzines and other merchandise in order to afford to go to the con. You end up sitting at the table and missing out on everything you went to the con for in the first place.

[...]

With several editors involved, there should be no reason for any one individual to be stuck at the tables every blessed moment the Dealer's Room is open. We could work out a schedule so that each person would not have to work more than two or three hours at the most each day, then be free to enjoy the rest of the convention. Also, an exchange of schedules would be permitted so that if a Sulu fan wanted to see his honorary in the Ballroom, a McCoy fan could take a stint. And, if there's a special surprise, such as Nimoy appearing in the Dealer's Room, everyone could agree that the tables should be temporarily closed and go!

Not with the Conglomerate!... we've made provisions for those who'd like to sell zines, but can't make it to the con. In such a case, the Conglomerate would charge 10% of the sales for handling the zines as well as the percentage which must go to Paramount. We're not avaricious, but we do need some reimbursement for handling outside material and being responsible for its security in the absence of its owners.

[...]

As to licenses from Paramount; we propose to try to buy just two or three licenses and list several zines on each license with each editor involved chipping in to pay the cost of the license and then adding their 10% of their sales to send to Paramount.

Since Paramount gets nervous if they don't get their 10% within a week after the last day of a con, we'll have to insist that no one take their items from the table the last day and pick up their cash until they have turned over Paramount’s 10% and New York’s 8% sales tax to the license holders.

[...]

Of course, we don’t know if the Conglomerate would be allowed, however, would we have to tell Paramount and the ISTC Committee what we are? We would list only the individuals buying the licenses and tables, and the others could be classified as assistants, or special gofers.

Of course, having several zones on sale at the same group of tables means that there would have to be a careful inventory of all merchandise. Receipts would have to be given for every sale - admittedly time-consuming, but necessary to determine how much of what has been sold so that money can be divided correctly afterwards. Also, one of our dealers could dip into the till for emergency expenses, write an. I.O.U. chit, and in this way, we would keep a straight ledger on all in-going and out-going monies. We might even print up our own receipts to facilitate matters.

Of course, if a person should arbitrarily decide not to honor the schedule, his fanzines would be removed from display and no longer offered for

sale; furthermore, previously-collected fees on sales of said fanzines would also be forfeited. Naturally, the above would not apply in the case of unavoidable problems. Things do happen. The thing is, we've got to protect ourselves and be certain dealers don't just walk out on us and still expect us to sell their zines so it seems best to have a policy of "no workee - no money!"

Of course, this set-up we have been discussing would mean that someone would, be relegated responsibility for the cash and records - nor would it be fair for one person, to shoulder this responsibility for the duration of the con. A rotation of this duty would be the best solution, and a different person would be selected at closing time each day to guard the cash and records the next day. Further, each person would be responsible for the security of his own items when the Dealer’s Room closes each day, and if they have something which needs to be locked up, it would be their own responsibility to collect the item(s) and see to locking them up at idle time the Dealer's Room closes - otherwise the item will be left on the table - and we assume no responsibility in such instances.

Some Earlier Context

From a June 1975 editorial in 2-5YM:

Paramount is getting touchy about Star Trek. Gone are the days when (as we did in late 1973) a letter to their legal department asking permission to do a zine is ignored. Today, Star Trek is “beginning to look profitable — and Paramount wants to see to it that all profits go to them.

To do this, Paramount is not only giving legitimate companies like Dage Co. trouble - they are also looking at zines with an eye to making a buck. Our request to run fiction, made a few months ago, was denied. And then, a few weeks ago, Dan Cheney, Ti-Ho designer and head of a Texas ST group, wrote about the zine his group was about to distribute.

Paramount's reply: They were given permission to do a zine only if a) they sold only a cons, and b) they paid royalties — $25 plus a percentage. I know of very few zines that could afford to operate on that basis. Dan, of course, felt intimidated. He wrote to us. And we called S.T.A.R.

We were told not to panic — that Paramount was not going to bother any local or by-mail operations, but was only going to worry about zines at conventions. Furthermore, we were advised to go ahead on ST fiction; they all do it with impunity. So now we feel somewhat more secure. Could Paramount close us down? Legally, they probably could — Star Trek is a copyrighted concept, and any extrapolations are technically violations of that copyright unless licensed by Paramount. So, if they wanted to spend the time and money — they could do it. But it would be a mistake to do so. ST zines make very little money for themselves. But they do constitute free advertising —- a fact they should recognize.

Fan Comments

The idea which Sharon Emily has proposed is a most interesting, and tempting, possibility. I knew quite well how zines are snapped up at cons, yet, because of the charges mentioned, most of us can't really afford to sell at conventions; and we'd like to. This does seem to be a viable solution to a tough problem, and I not only heartily endorse the Conglomerate, but will support them fully by sending zines for them to sell at ISTC and working with them at cons I am able to attend. This would be workable at all cons, be they large or small, and would be of an inestimable value and advantage to ail zine editors everywhere.