Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkScribe
I really doubt that this is so. All books, eBooks or print have very clear conditions regarding copyright and what you may or may not do with the copy you have purchased.
DRM will only keep technophobe from re-distributing your books, and there really is no way of determining how many who purchase eBook are technophobes. I believe that there are far more such purchasers than many on these forums imagine. Too many here assume that most buyers have a similar level of expertise and understanding as those who contribute here. This much at least is highly unlikely. What such people - those among them determined to cheat - can and will do is locate sources of software, music and eBooks that someone with more skill has removed protection from. Torrents. There are programs that the most technically naive among them can easily download and install. Programs that will allow them to search torrents as easily as doing a Google search.
The upshot is that you have the satisfaction of preventing simple distribution of your copyright material; you have added one extra step in the process. Hardly a stumbling block. DRM will stop Aunt Mabel from giving a copy of her purchases to Uncle Harold, but that is about it. (Until fourteen year old nephew Michael steps in and solves their problem.) Even Apple, one of the most savagely and determinedly self-protective companies in modern society has removed the DRM from iTunes store. Why do you think that they did that? It was damaging their sales.
If they devised a DRM system that would prevent copying but still work on all platforms, I would agree with you. Until then, I feel that DRM has become such a dirty word that even those who do not understand what it is will avoid it.
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I sell into two different audiences, but my cozies sell to a lot of Aunt Mabels. I am on several groups and technophobes describes many of them pretty accurately. What it stops is incidental giving away when people mistakenly try to email files thinking it's okay.
The person who wishes to strip DRM is going to do it anyway. It's just a step for them.
My biggest concern is whether having it would hurt sales. Since the bulk of my sales are on Amazon, for ME, that answer is "No, it doesn't noticeably hurt them." I do sell on Smashwords with no DRM, but the bulk of my sales are at Kobo and B&N. I recently stopped uploading to those two retails VIA smashwords. I can choose to apply DRM at those retailers.
My point is that I think most purchasers are loyal to where they want to shop--they aren't overly concerned about DRM. They have a nook--they shop at B&N. They understand the lending program there.
I don't know. I go back and forth on it, but ultimately I don't see a reason NOT to implement DRM.
P.S. I don't even mind Aunt Mabel giving a copy to Uncle Harold. It's the 8 people in her reading group that I mind if she emails them copies...without even understanding it is not hers to 'give.'