Until when DRM ebooks will haunt us?

[avantman42]

Originally Posted by Fluribus

Everything that I have ever seen says that one doesn't have to be a big publisher to opt out of the DRM. I've seen posts here from little folks saying they were putting out a Kindle book and wanted to know if they should apply the DRM.

Correct. It's also worth noting that there is no default setting - you have to specify whether you want DRM or not.

Originally Posted by Fluribus

If Amazon wanted to require DRM, they could easily do that for all those people. Only give exemptions for the big publishers, but they don't.

Agreed. KDP users have no negotiating power, they take what's offered or they walk away. The big publishers have the power to negotiate.

Originally Posted by Fluribus

Does Amazon charge a fee for the DRM?

No, at least not to those using KDP.

[BeccaPrice]

the new style drm is being discussed at length in this thread:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=215901

[avid01]

Bump. Any update on this?

And how about audio books? Are they more similar to music or books, legally speaking?

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by avid01

Bump. Any update on this?

And how about audio books? Are they more similar to music or books, legally speaking?

Some publishers have gone DRM free. Tor is the example that springs to mind, and they have said that they haven't seen any increase in piracy.

I'm hopeful that Tor's parent company, or perhaps another of the big publishers will realise that DRM is doing them no good, and abandon it completely. Once one does, the others will follow within 12 months.


I beleive audiobooks (except on CD, of course) mostly have DRM. I'm hopeful that this will change, but I don't really follow the audiobook market.

[avid01]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I beleive audiobooks (except on CD, of course) mostly have DRM. I'm hopeful that this will change, but I don't really follow the audiobook market.

Thanks. Actually I for one am veryinterested in audio books but - strangely - no progress on this - https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=145089 - in 3 years!?

[avantman42]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I beleive audiobooks (except on CD, of course) mostly have DRM. I'm hopeful that this will change, but I don't really follow the audiobook market.

Audible books seem to have DRM for the most part, but Downpour (my other main supplier) don't use DRM at all, and a lot of books are available at both. Downpour, though, sometimes have the book but won't sell it to me in the UK when Audible will.

[leaston]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Not in Britain, Jon. Amazon totally dominates here. Different market to the US. I know lots of people with readers. Every single one is a Kindle.

I ditched my Kindle in favour of a Kobo Glo and wouldn't go back. I never liked the gui of the Kindle much and hated the way it made you jump through hoops to organise books the way you want. Lastly, and on topic, I was fed up of being tethered to Amazon with their hardware. DRM isn't particularly a problem for me as I sideload most of my books via Calibre anyway, but it's the principle.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by leaston

I was fed up of being tethered to Amazon with their hardware. DRM isn't particularly a problem for me as I sideload most of my books via Calibre anyway, but it's the principle.

If you use Calibre, then you know as well as I do that you're not tethered to anything. It's trivial to convert between Amazon's formats and ePub. Although I prefer to read on my Kindle, I often take advantage of Kobo's discount coupons and buy from them.

Originally Posted by HarryT

If you use Calibre, then you know as well as I do that you're not tethered to anything. It's trivial to convert between Amazon's formats and ePub. Although I prefer to read on my Kindle, I often take advantage of Kobo's discount coupons and buy from them.

Well, that's mostly true. In some parts, having a device locked into Amazon's formats is an issue if you want to access library books (unless you're doing something that you really shouldn't be doing).

[PurpleStar]

Originally Posted by HarryT

If you use Calibre, then you know as well as I do that you're not tethered to anything. It's trivial to convert between Amazon's formats and ePub. Although I prefer to read on my Kindle, I often take advantage of Kobo's discount coupons and buy from them.

I do the same thing. Buy from Amazon when a book I want is cheaper there. Kindle daily deals, etc....Why should I pay more just cause I don't have a kindle?

[Tarana]

I have not seen many Nooks in the wild yet

I actually hadn't seen any Nooks in the wild (outside of the library and B&N) until yesterday. Lots of people waiting at a specialty medical clinic in Bloomington and everybody had a Nook ST or Glo. That was weird. Probably due to the fire sale.

I believe audiobooks (except on CD, of course) mostly have DRM. I'm hopeful that this will change, but I don't really follow the audiobook market.

Yes, all the Audible audiobooks have DRM, but there are several easy ways to get by it for any archival copy that you want (dbPoweramp works on nearly all). Many of my pre-whispersync titles were keepers, such as the Dresden Files, but nobody else in my family is much into audiobooks. So, I just remove DRM on my keepers in case Audible ever removes a title (so far, even if removed from sale, anything you bought remains, but I was a victim of the 1984 debacle at Amazon, so don't trust it.