They Published the Perished: NYRB Classics puts masterpieces back in print
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How much would such a thing cost?
> It would be difficult to think of a less commercially minded venture in the early 21st century.
This would be more of a wealthy guy side business instead of a VC backed growth business...
And they can use it for PR, as in “were supporting Arts, too.” I think this would come handy in current climate that’s getting more and more hostile to tech companies.
The world doesn’t need another university building for free.
Buying out copyright for books that a publisher is selling would be much more expensive. A few million dollars wouldn't go very far if every copyright holder wanted, for instance, a modest $5k per book to buy out their copyrights. And why would they sell their copyright for pennies, particularly when they already bought out the copyright from the original publisher? They put in all the effort to re-publish the book, and marginal and up-front costs now are zero (ebooks) or low (print on demand).
It's not obvious that making obscure books available for free would be doing them any favors. With the avenues of libraries and piracy available, having a non-zero price should help boost the perceived value of the books.