Quote:
Originally Posted by Kali Yuga
• If Macmillan wanted to grind ebooks to a halt, they would just pull all the ebooks instead of, oh... Signing on to Apple's upcoming eBook service, which is just about the most hyped outlet of ebooks in months.
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But how do you control a market from the outside looking in?
The e-book market hinges on one thing.. Media. They got it. We want it.
No e-books, no readers, no problem. But McMillan don't publish all books. And if they pulled out.. You can bet your last penny that someone else would come in and sell e-books and clean up in a limited market.
So taking your ball home when the other kids don't let you be captain of the soccer team isn't really any good if Joe down the street runs home and gets his.
Option 2. Salt the ground. Get into e-books, but keep them priced at a point where the hardback sales are not threatened. 5% now may be 10% next year, and 50% in a couple of years, once the readers get down to the Chinese brands nobody has heard of level. And become cheap..
I used to do craft fairs years ago. A little wood turning. I made some really nice bowls, plates, boxes.. All for fairly reasonable prices. And used the offcuts for paper knives and light pulls.
Guess which sold better.. A 3 minute light pull made from offcuts at £2.50 each or a £20 bowl made from a big hunk of wood that took half an hour to make.
The interesting thing will be seeing who plays along with McMillan, and if they have enough clout to make it hard for other publishers who don't toe the party line. Could be very interesting for those of you who buy DRM books. I'll stick to the freebies, PD and DRM free authors. Especially if Apple gain any power..
