Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Much as I respect Mr Stross's views, I strongly disagree with him about that. I don't think the typical punter is even aware of DRM. They buy from Amazon because of their great bookstore and customer service.
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Stross actually said something similar--that there is not much to be gained in removing DRM from bestsellers as they are generally read once by non-readers and generally regarded as disposable anyway. The removal of DRM avoids *pissing off* voracious (usually genre) readers with large collections who are afraid of losing access through format shifting/technical failure, and who value sharing with friends (who then often become fans). While most book sales are to the former type of readers, there are still large niche markets for the latter and Tor caters to one of them.
I think Stross is also correct that removing DRM removes a barrier to access for non-Amazon e-booksellers who wish to sell kindle ebooks. You *can't* as far as I can tell, sell DRM-infected kindle books without going through Amazon somehow. This literally breaks a stranglehold. I'm not sure it'll play out exactly as Stross envisions, but it opens up the possibility.