[thename]

Originally Posted by charleski

But that's a totally different thing. You're talking about physical entities and enhancement of the physical experience of ownership (not to mention collectibility).
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The question is, how do you add value when you don't have a physical product.

DVDs are still a physical product and so can add value with fancy cases and geegaws

I'm glad we agree re: future of extra content as a means to a viable market. But I think your distinction between the physical and electronic is iffy at best, wholly fallacious at worst. Consider the iTunes move a few years back to offer "iTunes Plus" i.e., higher bit rates, no-DRM, etc. for a higher price vs. the higher priced physical media i.e., even higher bit rates, no-DRM, etc. Are these electronic goods value added or are the physical products feeble knockoffs of a Platonic ideal with fancy cases and geegaws to bump prices?

... but there are some examples of added digital content in that domain that's worth having (rather than recycled promo puff-pieces). A publisher could certainly add to that in various ways without having to resort to spurious 'multimedia'.

I think of Norton Critical Editions (public domain works for which I happily pay) filled to the brim with essays, historical background, and copious annotation. To me that's all worth having and would be so in digital form as well. To many others? "Why do I want essays when I could just get the book for $10 less?!"

Or consider the Danielewski sibling's collaborative works House of Leaves and Haunted (part of the "spurious 'multimedia'" you mention) which are--to my knowledge--rarely sold together. Things along these lines might very well add value to digital content (give me an EPUB and MP3s for the latter?) and sell for a premium. This also goes toward the converse of:

Of course, one question is - what about books where the author doesn't want to add anything? I can certainly think of cases where the author would feel that extras merely distract from the integrity of the work.

What about those who do want extra content? What if David Byrne wants to sell Here Lies Love in strictly digital form (and I'd argue the collection of the music and book combination are probably not spurious and revenue pandering)? I think many an author might embrace that ability.

So while I agree that added content and market segmentation is well and good, I'm hard-pressed to attempt to limit what's considered "worth having" in the digital realm. Even as the current, difficult ebook market stands wouldn't it be slightly cheaper to skip cover images? Good layout? Sound copy-editing? I'm sure there are many who--given the choice--would snap up a cheaper version of such limitation.

But kudos and karma for excellent points e.g.,

That's exactly the point, and something that lots of people have failed to realise. Market segmentation is good for everyone - more stuff for those who are willing to pay more, cheaper prices for those who want to pay less and a healthier industry in general.