MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - E-books one of the biggest technology flops?

alex_d · 04-14-2007, 01:29 AM

a slightly more off-topic rant continued...

P.S. please cut it out with the "the music industry is dying, waah." Although it might surely seem logical that it would, the statistics saying that seem to be cooked up by people and not real. If you look at the arstechnica article, all the plotpoints are "estimates." The one that isn't, for 2005, actually shows a RISE in revenue. The industry has an incentive to make its outlook look grim and pitiful so that it could have an excuse to press measures that would get it more money.

P.P.S. I should mentin there is one piece of content I do pay for. I have a Scientific American Digital subscription mostly because they autocharge my card (admittedly, it's also because they give you drm-free pdfs). If i had to pay $3-$5 for each issue, I wouldn't (drm or not). Decision-time micropayments don't work! They just leave a bad feeling with you when you do it.

There are only two schemes that could work. Two schemes that would give the sort of limitless, zero-marginal-cost access to content that would make iPods and eBooks work. Either monthly subscriptions (which haven't took off mostly due to half-hearted marketing) or government-funded mandatory licensing (sounds commie but translates to digital libraries. it even has a benefit of reducing commercialism and promoting quality).

But even if you consider the "worst" possible case... that no one pays (more than 10 cents) for content EVER... the result is actually a lot better than one might imagine! They have tons of great music in China and Russia, and on top of that they have flashy concerts on TV every night featuring dozens of performers. Hell, it might even be better than our system. I can't say I can predict how it would work for books, but the lesson is:

Don't buy into the bullshit put forth by the rich and powerful (rich because they're powerful, powerful because they're rich) who are trying to save their own asses. Sometimes, even, they lie that their asses need saving so that they can marshal even more power (or at least not have to learn new tricks).

04-14-2007, 01:29 AM	#44
alex_d Addict Posts: 303 Karma: 187 Join Date: Dec 2006 Device: Sony Reader	a slightly more off-topic rant continued... P.S. please cut it out with the "the music industry is dying, waah." Although it might surely seem logical that it would, the statistics saying that seem to be cooked up by people and not real. If you look at the arstechnica article, all the plotpoints are "estimates." The one that isn't, for 2005, actually shows a RISE in revenue. The industry has an incentive to make its outlook look grim and pitiful so that it could have an excuse to press measures that would get it more money. P.P.S. I should mentin there is one piece of content I do pay for. I have a Scientific American Digital subscription mostly because they autocharge my card (admittedly, it's also because they give you drm-free pdfs). If i had to pay $3-$5 for each issue, I wouldn't (drm or not). Decision-time micropayments don't work! They just leave a bad feeling with you when you do it. There are only two schemes that could work. Two schemes that would give the sort of limitless, zero-marginal-cost access to content that would make iPods and eBooks work. Either monthly subscriptions (which haven't took off mostly due to half-hearted marketing) or government-funded mandatory licensing (sounds commie but translates to digital libraries. it even has a benefit of reducing commercialism and promoting quality). But even if you consider the "worst" possible case... that no one pays (more than 10 cents) for content EVER... the result is actually a lot better than one might imagine! They have tons of great music in China and Russia, and on top of that they have flashy concerts on TV every night featuring dozens of performers. Hell, it might even be better than our system. I can't say I can predict how it would work for books, but the lesson is: Don't buy into the bullshit put forth by the rich and powerful (rich because they're powerful, powerful because they're rich) who are trying to save their own asses. Sometimes, even, they lie that their asses need saving so that they can marshal even more power (or at least not have to learn new tricks).