Quote:
Originally Posted by stonetools
Frankly, there is no evidence that people will read more if books are cheaper. I suspect its a story people who argue for cheaper ebooks tell themselves.
When people cite studies that show this, then I'll believe it.
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I will not read more if books are cheaper. I would *buy* more if books were cheaper, and I would buy from a more diverse range of authors--some authors who aren't getting any money from me now, would get some if their books were lower priced.
It's possible some authors that are currently getting money from me, would get less if books were cheaper. But it's also possible I'd skip the occasional restaurant dinner if my other option was "four new books to read."
There are no studies to quote because the entire ebook marketing industry is baby-new. Ten years of tiny fringe activity mostly dominated by strict hardware-and-software combination packs, followed by two years of explosion in a hundred directions, doesn't give us much useful data to work with. Instead, we have to extrapolate from other industries.
When VCR tapes were $20-$80 each, a few sold, and a lot were bootlegged. When they dropped to $10 each, a lot more sold. A lot more were bootlegged... but the sales didn't slow down a bit because of that. The only thing that slowed VCR tape sales was the gradual dominance of DVDs... at less than $20 each.
Music, for all the complaints about rampant piracy, is selling millions of songs, and more are being licensed through services like Rhapsody.
There is every indication, looking at other entertainment media, that when the price drops from "price of a meal in a decent restaurant" to "price of a double cappuccino," that sales skyrocket.