Sales Increased 54% Going DRM Free

[JSWolf]

Sales jumped 54% when this publisher went DRM-free

In 2019 we asked a major STM publisher if we might sell their ebooks DRM-free from eBooks.com. They were already selling unencrypted (watermarked) ebooks from their own website direct to consumers, so clearly they had a reasonable appetite for this. The results were remarkable.

In 2018 (the last full year when we sold their ebooks with encryption) this publisher accounted for 1.35% of our total sales. In the year to June 2022, they represent 2.09% of our sales.

Every publisher that has gone DRM free has not see a drop in sales. They either stay the same or increase.

[Quoth]

DRM is ultimately Corporate theft.
The people benefiting most are companies selling DRM solutions.
Commercial piracy is almost unaffected by DRM.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Sales jumped 54% when this publisher went DRM-free


Every publisher that has gone DRM free has not see a drop in sales. They either stay the same or increase.

There is so much unsupported conjecture presented as fact in this article. Even the numbers are misinterpreted. The 54% increase is not in sales; it’s in percentage of sales. Without knowing the total sales figures we have no idea if that was a gain at all or how much of one.

And even the article says in so many words that this was a special case (technical books) and that popular fiction and basic texts could be better served by DRM after all.

Basically they took a minute, essentially meaningless comparison and blew it up into a bubble that pops as soon as you look at it. It’s pure marketing and should be given the same level of credence as a detergent commercial.

[Cactus Chef]

DRM-free has certainly influenced my decisions about where I buy ebooks from. I've bought a few from places I otherwise wouldn't have visited, specifically because their books were DRM-free. And in turn, I have avoided multiple places that I might have otherwise done business with, because it was DRM-encumbered, and I wasn't confident that I'd be able to remove it.

This is largely why all my current business is through Amazon or Kobo if it must be DRM-encumbered--at least I can reliably break the DRM (for now). I won't buy anything from B&N, even though I'd prefer to give them business over Amazon, because getting the books out of their ecosystem is a royal PITA.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by issybird

There is so much unsupported conjecture presented as fact in this article. Even the numbers are misinterpreted. The 54% increase is not in sales; it’s in percentage of sales. Without knowing the total sales figures we have no idea if that was a gain at all or how much of one.

And even the article says in so many words that this was a special case (technical books) and that popular fiction and basic texts could be better served by DRM after all.

Basically they took a minute, essentially meaningless comparison and blew it up into a bubble that pops as soon as you look at it. It’s pure marketing and should be given the same level of credence as a detergent commercial.

It's a pity. Does no-one any favours publishing that sort of junk.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Cactus Chef

DRM-free has certainly influenced my decisions about where I buy ebooks from. I've bought a few from places I otherwise wouldn't have visited, specifically because their books were DRM-free. And in turn, I have avoided multiple places that I might have otherwise done business with, because it was DRM-encumbered, and I wasn't confident that I'd be able to remove it.

This is largely why all my current business is through Amazon or Kobo if it must be DRM-encumbered--at least I can reliably break the DRM (for now). I won't buy anything from B&N, even though I'd prefer to give them business over Amazon, because getting the books out of their ecosystem is a royal PITA.

For me, the ability to remove DRM if it exists has always been paramount. Before I bought my very first book with DRM in 2011 (from Amazon), I researched the topic and made sure I could "free" the book. An unremovable DRM is and has always been an absolute dealbreaker for me.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by Quoth

DRM is ultimately Corporate theft.
The people benefiting most are companies selling DRM solutions.
Commercial piracy is almost unaffected by DRM.

Exactly

All DRM does is either annoy a legit customer or stop a sale that would have been made because the customer will not deal with another (propriatary device) platform, signup...

And YOU can do your own backups and not worry that your vendor (DRM method) goes out of business or tied to a specific piece of hardware.
Those Paperbacks I bought in 1963, still work (a bit yellow, and I sometime tape the page back in place). The 45 & 33 Records still play just fine on any Turntable (OTOH some of my QUAD stuff needs a $pecial catridge and Decoder box. But any working one will do). So far, all my CD's still play.
All without DRM, which allows me to format shif them to play direct in my vehicle without a kludged adapter
(Cassette ->CD ->MP3 on a flash drive)

[haertig]

DRM doesn't bother me terribly much, as long as I can easily remove it from books that I buy. If things get to the point where I cannot easily remove the DRM from purchased books, I will not buy any more books that contain DRM.

If someone surveyed me regarding DRM, I would say that I am against it as it is currently implemented (forced on honest purchasers, ineffective on thieves), neither for or against it in principle (preventing theft), but I would also state that it does not (currently) affect my purchasing decisions. So depending on how the survey was written (i.e., what pre-determined conclusion it was trying to achieve), I might appear either for, or neutral, or against DRM. Take your pick, survey manipulators.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by issybird

There is so much unsupported conjecture presented as fact in this article. Even the numbers are misinterpreted. The 54% increase is not in sales; it’s in percentage of sales. Without knowing the total sales figures we have no idea if that was a gain at all or how much of one.

And even the article says in so many words that this was a special case (technical books) and that popular fiction and basic texts could be better served by DRM after all.

Basically they took a minute, essentially meaningless comparison and blew it up into a bubble that pops as soon as you look at it. It’s pure marketing and should be given the same level of credence as a detergent commercial.

One thing I've never read was about any publisher who has removed DRM losing sales. Tor did say at some point that sales did not drop because of removing DRM. Pocket Books (part of Simon & Schuster) has not come out and said they've lost sales. In fact, because of no DRM on Star Trek eBooks., I was able to help someone in the UL with a Kindle get a Star Trek eBook when Amazon botched it. The solution was to get the ePub and convert.

So really, DRM isn't good on anything but library eBooks.

[ownedbycats]

For books, it matters a bit less to me because the DRM is usually pretty easily stripped. But for video games I have paid a bit extra to get a DRM-free copy from GOG, and have passed up games entirely due to overly onerous DRM.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

For books, it matters a bit less to me because the DRM is usually pretty easily stripped. But for video games I have paid a bit extra to get a DRM-free copy from GOG, and have passed up games entirely due to overly onerous DRM.

But one thing the article does get correct. Some may go to the net to find a copy of eBooks without DRM. But would buy if there was no DRM.

[ownedbycats]

Yeah-- if the only option for a book was a DRM that couldn't be stripped, I'd pass it up. I've been burned before -- I have a few old games on disc that I can't play since Windows removed support for SecuROM (and rightfully so; it left some nasty security holes).

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Yeah-- if the only option for a book was a DRM that couldn't be stripped, I'd pass it up. I've been burned before -- I have a few old games on disc that I can't play since Windows removed support for SecuROM.

Before eInk, I would think that any PDF that was bought with DRM are now unreadable. Any MS-Reader eBooks with DRM are unreadable. I'm not sure if Mobi and eReader eBooks with DRM are unreadable.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

One thing I've never read was about any publisher who has removed DRM losing sales. Tor did say at some point that sales did not drop because of removing DRM. Pocket Books (part of Simon & Schuster) has not come out and said they've lost sales. In fact, because of no DRM on Star Trek eBooks., I was able to help someone in the UL with a Kindle get a Star Trek eBook when Amazon botched it. The solution was to get the ePub and convert.

So really, DRM isn't good on anything but library eBooks.

Except that you can’t, or oughtn’t, use a duplicitous article which misuses stats to present an inaccurate analysis. It undermines your argument in the sense that if that’s the best you can do, you’re on shaky ground yourself.

That “54% increase in sales” which is really a 54% increase in portion of ebooks.com sales? First, we can assume that the publisher’s sales didn’t go up 54%, because ebooks.com wouldn’t have engaged in that roundabout locution if they had. So why did their percentage of ebooks.com sales go up? Because ebooks.com sales went down? Because other publishers stopped selling through ebooks.com? In any case, it doesn’t reflect well on ebooks.com actual sales. No wonder they’re casting around for new business!

[JSWolf]

Sales of that publisher's eBooks went up after DRM was removed.