Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Jordan
So: How do we convince publishers and authors to take that leap? And how do we convince buyers to honor it?
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Part of the problem is basically a model where sellers are more concerned with people that DON'T buy things, by definition.
The hand-wringing over "but...but...someone that didn't pay for it will HAVE IT" is so ridiculous on a practical level it is really, really laughable.
It cannot be avoided. I mean JKR's books are all over the Internet. There are millions of potential editors out there perfecting any imperfections.
Someone told me they saw a version of book 7 in eBook format that even had the chapter headings in the book's typeface.
Bloomsbury nor JKR get a *dime*...not one penny.
From a business point of view, its fairly obvious that this is a product in demand.
Its is also painfully obvious to anyone that is looking that it doesn't matter if the publishers release these books. They will happen. They get no revenue.
If to them, its an all or nothing proposition, then its not going to happen. The reality tho is that it doesn't really matter. Publishers really have nothing to gain by not releasing popular books as eBook...drm free or not. They happen anyway.
The more valuable the "property" is (I mean brand in this instance) the more high quality the bootleg becomes, over time.
The idea really should be to nip this in the bud, short-circuiting the "darknet" process. Instead, they seem to believe they will be accelerating it, when the reality of the situation clearly indicates that either way, it exists.
As far as pricing goes, I think the $9.99 price point that amazon has is one that is workable...assuming publishers can add a bit more value for the money.
The Amazon problem is a simple one. There is no way to read your book on anything but a kindle...not even a PC.
If Amazon wants the Kindle to by the "iPod of eBooks" they would be better served by actually following Apple's model instead of the models used by all of the competitors they have laid waste to.
1. Anything you buy from Apple can be played on as many iPods as you own.
2. Any digital music you buy can be burned onto a CD which can be played on any cd player, anywhere
3. Any music that you buy that is "DRM Free" is still identified as being yours ; it is stamped with your account information
4. The system gives a feeling of actually *owning* what you buy. It does not feel "temporary" or "etherial"
5. The Price/Selection/Quality ratio makes it effectively better than "free" for those that are buyers
No other digital music solution currently offers this full package of benefits.
The current, and soon to be eclipsed leader in eBooks doesn't offer anywhere near the value and freedom to buyers that the iTMS does. It is neither "better than free" nor "competitive to Brick and Mortar" so there is no way they can thrive next to either.
How can this be fixed? I think what people are calling "social drm" is a good step (this allows for more "playback" options and helps honest people stay that way), the $9.99 Amazon price (tho I think $7.99 would be the "killer price point"), and the addition of allowing buyers to print one copy of the book (paralleling the m4a -> cd that Apple does).
How to convince publishers?
Well the same thing that is enraging them should be more than enough to convince them: they don't make a dime off eBooks traded on the internet.