Quote:
Originally Posted by HansTWN
Djgreedo claims all consumers stand behind him. Do they really??? Last I heard Itunes is doing very well selling digital downloads. My guess is he is representing a small minority. See the vote count of the socalled pirate parties.
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Firstly, please don't assume that I like what is happening. I want authors (and musicians, etc.) to make money, and I happily buy music and books digitally - I hardly ever buy CDs or paper books any more. I do buy my stuff digitally and
legally. I am being realistic about the implications of this technology. That seems to make me a devil's advocate somewhat.
The publishers would agree with me. They claim their sales are dwindling and the sky is falling. I would wager they know more about their sales figures than you or I do. But it is obvious that sales are down, and it's mostly attributed (whether it's correct or not) to piracy. Piracy is a direct result of the ease of digital copying.
We are still at the start of the digital age. CD stores are still packed with customers and so are book shops and video game stores. We haven't switched totally to digital yet.
We are already seeing lots of free content pop up. I don't buy newspapers any more because there are countless free online newspapers. It is no coincidence that newspapers around the world are downsizing and/or going out of business.
There are already lots of websites offering free books (legally). When similar content is available for free, will people (en masse) be happy to pay $20 for a commercial product that doesn't necessarily offer higher quality? I don't think so. Publishers will be forced to slash their prices to an unsustainable level and find other ways of getting our money.