Google Book’s Deal to Pay Writers

Author’s Guild seems quite pleased with it:

The four main licensing programs established by the agreement, Aiken
recounted, are public access through which libraries are entitled to
one terminal with access to the Google book database in a view only
mode; pages can be printed for a fee. The preview license lets readers
search the database and appropriate snippets of books will appear from
books depending on the search term; these will be supported by ads. If
a user clicks on the snippet and decides he or she wants to buy the
book online, prices set by the rightsholder will allow that to happen.
The fourth licensing deal, and the one Aiken thinks will gain the most
traction, is the institutional subscriptions through which colleges and
other organizations can subscribe to the full database. In all cases,
Google collects that money and keeps 37% with the rest going to the
BRR, which, after keeping a small administration fee, will give it to
the rightsholder.

Aiken further explained how the payment breakdown regarding the
split between authors and publishers will work on different types of
books and their rights status. For out of print books where the rights
have reverted, the author will receive 100% of the payment from the
BRR. On OOP books where rights haven’t reverted, authors and publishers
will receive a 50-50 split. For OOP books published before 1987 and
where the rights have not reverted authors will receive 65% of the
payment and publishers 35%. On in-print books, payment will be
subjected to the terms of the author-publisher contract.

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