Quote:
Originally Posted by JSWolf
Tor does not do DRM and they have found no noticeable drop in sales due to removing DRM.
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Some readers choose Tor because it is, unlike many other publishers, DRM-free. If almost all publishers went DRM-free, Tor would lose that advantage. So just because they may be doing well with their model doesn't mean it is generally a good idea for publishers.
Science fiction readers likely have above-average technical computer/web skills, making DRM less effective for them. But what about other genres? Macmillan, Tor's owner, surely has statistics not just on how Tor sales changed in general, but how different sub-genres were affected. On that basis, they have, so far, decided not to go DRM-free company-wide.
It could well be that, from a business standpoint, DRM or no-DRM is a borderline call for a publisher. That's the impression I get from Mike Shatzkin. I don't perceive it as a moral issue, any more than is an anti-theft mirror in the corner of a book store. It's just a question of what works. Macmillan managers, Tor and otherwise, have the data. We don't.