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Originally Posted by the.Mtn.Man
OK, but you haven't demonstrated how a library "lending" digital files without restriction harms business.
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What's to demonstrate? The library pays more to have "multiple" copies to loan which increases the payments to the publisher and author which improves the chances of them remaining in business.
Quote:
Originally Posted by the.Mtn.Man
Or for that matter, you may as well argue that libraries in general hurt the book sales industry because it gives people a reason not to buy books themselves.
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I seem to remember rather heated discussions about that exact topic when Baen was starting their Free Library. One counter example used by Eric Flint was that his first book,
Mother of Demons, which had increased sales and sell-through after being placed in the Free Library.
It seems to me to be pretty much a fact that most authors linger in obscurity so gaining exposure through libraries and/or books borrowed from friends which allows potential readers to try for free is good for both sides. Free is a price that most readers are willing to pay to try an unknown author in the hopes of not finding that the book would have better left on the slush pile while giving a book away in hopes of improving future sales seems to work for many authors.