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Originally Posted by dmaul1114
I think this will be a trend.
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I think this is hardly different than Scribd, Amazon DTP, or a dozen other sites that allow authors to directly publish their works.
As with those sites, the cover art is generally substandard, there's no way to know if the work is edited, there's almost no emphasis (or apparent respect for) graphic design, no paper or POD options, no review or recommendation engine. I doubt the site will even generate enough revenue for any kind of serious marketing push.
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Originally Posted by dmaul1114
E-books allow a way for non-established authors to sell their books without having to get a contract, and for established authors to say screw the publishers and sell books on their own.
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So does POD, and self-publishing has always been an option. The cost of entry is lower, but we're not talking about huge sums anyway. So along with positive changes (e.g. authors selling direct, no international barriers) there are negatives (e.g. few ways to pick authors out of the massive slush pile, no mechanisms for region-specific marketing).
It'll probably work out fine for these authors, since I presume there is no exclusivity; they don't really have much to lose, if they are fine with DRM-free files. Then again there isn't much to gain either, since these appear to be mostly backlist titles, there's zero marketing, no advances and so forth.
Also, keep in mind this site apparently focuses on presenting authors who were already published by someone else; so they're redlining... off of the decisions made by publishers in the past. Not much help from this site for the novice authors.
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Originally Posted by dmaul1114
It's happened in music with up and coming bands having MP3s on their web sites, streaming music on their myspace or facebook pages etc.
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Sure, and some small unsigned bands are making a smidgen more money than they used to by selling CD's and T-shirts at shows -- and while this has been an option for years, AFAIK virtually no one has charted without being signed to a label (small or large). So for the band that is happy to play out and isn't looking for big sales it's handy, but hasn't fundamentally changed the dynamic yet. If anything, a label will now expect an unsigned band to have an online following as a demonstration of its ability to sell recordings.
Meanwhile, larger bands have occasionally taken the initiative to form their own labels (Beatles/Apple, Led Zeppelin/Swan Song, Madonna/Maverick, Neil Young/Vapor etc). It's rare with books but not completely unheard of (City Lights). So, not necessarily seeing a huge change their either.