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Originally Posted by Elfwreck
I'm trying to figure out how to get a copy of the ebook. Can't visit Scribd from work (they seem to think it's a content storage & download site, fancy that), and a couple of the reviews online seem to say it can't be downloaded from Scribd. I have a Sony, but the Library software isn't working for me; I can't get it to connect properly. (I suspect it has something to do with dialup. Too slow; the pages crash before they finish.)
I don't think the product itself will be valueless, but money will be based on presentation, not contents. We may see a return to the pay-per-chapter cliffhanger; when the author gets enough money, the next chapter is released. Or we may see subscriptions to publishers or authors--$15/month or $120/year gets you two ebooks per month, with heavy social DRM (your name and address in the headers, maybe your CC#... editable, but that'd take some work).
One of the worries about digital content dropping in price, is we may see a return to exclusive, tiny print runs, for authors who would rather get $50 from each of 200 readers, than the maybe-chance for $2 from each of 5000 readers.
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There's been some trouble with Scribd (geographic limitations), and Spotify is Europe only. I don't use Sony's craptacular software, so I can't access the store that end and tell you if that's also geographically restricted. It'll probably be on a friendly neighborhood torrent site soon enough
On your other points, yes and more besides. We're probably going to see subscription based models, advertising, pay-per-chapter, pay to completion, and boutique print-runs (possibly invidualised by the author) and many other ways to monetize fiction, just as we're seeing with music. Not everyone sells their tracks through itunes (and takes a tiny percentage of profits), some do it through Jamendo and Magnatune, some sell CD's or merchandise or tickets to concerts, or any other number of things.
The digital age is disruptive. Many people will lose out, and many will gain. But there's not a cat's chance in hell that these big companies can stick with the old product=fixed price model for very long. Just won't happen.