I think the day is coming when book publishers are definitely going to die off. They are, for the most part, unnecessary. The internet and digital distribution completely nullify their existence, and I think what we're seeing is an industry in it's death throes, with the DRM lock-in being one last desperate attempt for them to keep a stranglehold on the market, even if only for a while longer.
The shakeout has been taking place in the brick and mortar bookstores for a while now, and the publishers will be next. Just today I read that Border's Books was missing payments to publishers and trying to conserve cash while refinancing debt.
That's fancy talk for "Don't look for Borders to still be around in 2012, unless serious changes are made." They already can't pay their bills.
http://dailyherald.com/article/20101...ess/101239938/
Isn't Border's part owner of Kobo? Who the hell knows what's going to happen with that.