Kind of did, in a way:
"For indie writers of Amazon, it’s publish or perish; Kindle Unlimited’s offerings soaring" by David StreitfeldNew York Times January 05, 2015
NEW YORK — One big argument for “all you can eat” music, video, and book services is that they encourage people to sample new artists and ultimately develop a deeper relationship with a few of them. You listen to songs you have never heard before because there is no additional cost, and then maybe you go to the concert and, perhaps, buy a T-shirt. Artists are rewarded at the end of the process, not in the beginning the way they used to be.
The case against the services, made most eloquently by Taylor Swift, is that they teach people that culture is not worth paying for online. As a result, artists must earn their keep with something more than their art — those T-shirts, perhaps. If artists do not want to or cannot interact with their fans, they might be out of luck.
Traditional book publishers have been reluctant to participate much in reading-subscription services, for fear that individual books, their authors, and the editors who shape them will be devalued. But self-published writers, also called independent or indie writers, many of whom have just begun their careers, see little to lose. They are trying to move up the food chain, while established writers have been trying not to move down it.
Indie writers, despite their name, must rely to a greater or lesser extent on Amazon, which felt it needed to start its own all-you-can-eat service, Kindle Unlimited, to remain competitive with startups like Oyster and Scribd.
Kindle Unlimited opened in July. In the six months since, the amount of material on it has increased to 700,000 books from 600,000 — nearly equivalent to the entire amount of material available for Kindle e-readers shortly after Amazon introduced them in 2007.
Kathryn Le Veque has self-published 44 works of fiction since 2012. Her audience is primarily on Amazon, which means that when Kindle Unlimited came along, she either had to give up or make it work. So far, she has been able to adjust.
First, some background:
That's where I put this down.
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