Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Thornton
For ebooks, I think that the same logic applies. Piracy of books is only a problem for people who could care less about books, who are the people spending money with publishers in any case. The real challenge for publishers is to make reading a book seem a better bet for your $10 than a CD, video game, movie etc. A successful clampdown on piracy would do them no good, because their problem is to gain market share vs. other options.
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Good post, some good thoughts. For me personally, piracy is the result of poor company policy rather than people who don't care about the product.
I'll talk specifically with TV shows. Quite common in Australia a new TV series will start, advertised to the max, after 5-10 episodes it is either dropped or used as a time filler and not played in order. You got hooked on the show and suddenly the TV stations are mucking you around. You have 3 options, (1) put up with it, (2) wait 12-18 months for DVD to be released, or (3) download off internet at watch it in order. Option 3 looks pretty good for most people. Those who wait for option 2 find on release date the boxed DVD set it $90, "hang on, the previous season was $50 when released, why is this worth $90?". As a consumer we find big DVD sales where the $90 TV series is dropped to an amazing $40, but you can't buy it because the store is sold out and sorry, no rainchecks. So your thinking now is "I'm not going to pay $90 when it has been sold as low as $40". So, you go then with option 3.
Now ebooks has been spoken quite a bit with piracy. Essentially a big factor is GR. You want to buy it but are refused, so you pirate. Or DRM, issues there, can't read what you bought etc, so you pirate.
Secondly with ebooks the publishers are wanting to sell the ebooks at the same price as a paper/hardback, but what the consumer is buying are two different products. Buying a paper/hardback you buy an actual product which you have rights to (sell, share, even copy for personal use in some countries). Ebooks you buy a licence to read. Publishers are wanting people to pay the same for less essentially. Two things need to either take place (1) the price of ebooks needs to drop to represent the actual product you are paying for in comparison to the paperback, or (2) ebooks need to be value-added to justify the price.
Regardless, there will always be a group of people who will pirate regardless. What needs to be worked on is the honest pirate, the person who pirates because he has been driven to that extent.