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GA Russell · 12-12-2010, 01:02 AM

I assume that the black marketing of books will progress in a similar fashion to that of music.

I saw former Sony Music exec Tommy Mottola interviewed a couple of weeks ago. He said that music used to be a 50 billion dollar industry, and it is now a 25 billion dollar industry. (I believe [without evidence] that the primary reason for that decline is that the companies are not putting out records that people want to buy. But that's for another discussion.)

I believe that the primary effect of pirate sites is not that the music/book is free, but rather that the customer/consumer has an affordable option. The big companies can no longer say "Take it or leave it."

Dennis, I believe your statements regarding the difficulties of publishing an eBook. But I sense a reluctance on the part of the publishers to make the necessary changes.

They appear to be foot dragging with their back catalogue. With their eBook pricing they appear to want to maximize the profit of each sale rather than maximize the profit of each title (through increased volume).

We often speak here about back catalogue like the Perry Masons, none of which are available as eBooks legitimately, but a few of which are available at the pirate sites. We hear often about the Harry Potters eBooks, none legitimately but all at pirate sites.

I believe that it is only a matter of a few years before everything I can think of will be available at a pirate site. Five years, maybe? Ten?

So to me it is inevitable that the eBooks will become available, and the question is whether the big publishers want a piece of the pie of their own properties. It appears that they have wasted the past four years (since the Kindle was introduced), and the pirates (who as far as I know are college kids) are ahead of them.

As a friend once said to me years ago about the cable tv company we were having problems with, "Either get in the business or get out of it." I don't want to hear about the publishers' difficulties because the pirates appear able to overcome them. If the big publishers don't offer easily affordable eBooks, they will find themselves with none of the action.

12-12-2010, 01:02 AM	#27
GA Russell Argos win Grey Cup! Posts: 7,676 Karma: 31487351 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Device: Paperwhite, Kindles 10 & 4 and jetBook Lite	I assume that the black marketing of books will progress in a similar fashion to that of music. I saw former Sony Music exec Tommy Mottola interviewed a couple of weeks ago. He said that music used to be a 50 billion dollar industry, and it is now a 25 billion dollar industry. (I believe [without evidence] that the primary reason for that decline is that the companies are not putting out records that people want to buy. But that's for another discussion.) I believe that the primary effect of pirate sites is not that the music/book is free, but rather that the customer/consumer has an affordable option. The big companies can no longer say "Take it or leave it." Dennis, I believe your statements regarding the difficulties of publishing an eBook. But I sense a reluctance on the part of the publishers to make the necessary changes. They appear to be foot dragging with their back catalogue. With their eBook pricing they appear to want to maximize the profit of each sale rather than maximize the profit of each title (through increased volume). We often speak here about back catalogue like the Perry Masons, none of which are available as eBooks legitimately, but a few of which are available at the pirate sites. We hear often about the Harry Potters eBooks, none legitimately but all at pirate sites. I believe that it is only a matter of a few years before everything I can think of will be available at a pirate site. Five years, maybe? Ten? So to me it is inevitable that the eBooks will become available, and the question is whether the big publishers want a piece of the pie of their own properties. It appears that they have wasted the past four years (since the Kindle was introduced), and the pirates (who as far as I know are college kids) are ahead of them. As a friend once said to me years ago about the cable tv company we were having problems with, "Either get in the business or get out of it." I don't want to hear about the publishers' difficulties because the pirates appear able to overcome them. If the big publishers don't offer easily affordable eBooks, they will find themselves with none of the action.