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DRM - Music has been there before.....
Apple & iTunes remained the #1 Online retailer in spite of DRM. In my opinion, the record labels gave, and ironically so, Amazon and others the no-DRM green light in order to weaken Apple's stranglehold on digital music. Did they succeed? Maybe a little bit. Apple was able to go DRM free when they relented on their 99 cent pricing.
As it appears to me... the shoe is on the other foot so to speak, Amazon is the "Apple" of ebooks with their "iPod" only its called the Kindle instead.
As the popularity of ebooks grows and grows (and assuming Amazon becomes the iTunes equvialent of ebooks) I expect the same thing will happen, publishers/authors will want a bigger piece of the digital pie. Amazon will resist on raising the $9.99 NYT price. Guess who the publishers will let drop DRM?... it wont be Amazon, it will be Sony or someone else in order to put pressure on Amazon to let publishers dictate higher prices. Amazon will get "Amazoned" (think Amazon mp3 vs iTunes) by a lower tiered ebook source.
SO..... enjoy your $9.99 books while you can. I think the price will be going up in the next decade. But at least they will be DRM free.
History repeats itself.... Maybe.
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