STUDY SHOWS: Ditching DRM could reduce piracy, prices

[frahse]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

What does any of this have to do with DRM?

Luck;
Ken

I went back and simplified for you Ken.
Luck back at you

[JeremyR]

I personally think that pricing is the big sticking point.

Say every dead author still in copyright had his/her estate sell their e-books for a $1 a piece. I would be in hog heaven, so to speak, spending pretty much all the spare money I have. (I read about 400 pages a day, so I can go through older, shorter books quick)

But instead, most sell their e-books for $9.99-$12.99.

For instance, look at Baen vs Phoenix Pick. Both sell old backlist books, but Baens are $6 or less. Phoenix starts at $6, but is generally $10.

Neither use DRM, but I regularly buy from Baen, but I haven't bought a single book from Phoenix (though I did get a couple of their freebies).

Heck, in a few cases, it's the same author. And interestingly enough, for living authors, the prices at Phoenix Pick tend to be reasonable. Only with the dead ones it's expensive.

In the PC game arena, another great example would be Steam. A lot of people buy games from it over DRM free sources (like Good old Games)? Why, partially because people really really like Steam, but also because they frequently have sales with insane discounts, 50-80%.

[kennyc]

Here's the Science News story which I just ran across and see this thread already exists.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1007113944.htm

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by JeremyR

I personally think that pricing is the big sticking point.

Say every dead author still in copyright had his/her estate sell their e-books for a $1 a piece. I would be in hog heaven, so to speak, spending pretty much all the spare money I have. (I read about 400 pages a day, so I can go through older, shorter books quick)

But instead, most sell their e-books for $9.99-$12.99.

For instance, look at Baen vs Phoenix Pick. Both sell old backlist books, but Baens are $6 or less. Phoenix starts at $6, but is generally $10.

Neither use DRM, but I regularly buy from Baen, but I haven't bought a single book from Phoenix (though I did get a couple of their freebies).

Heck, in a few cases, it's the same author. And interestingly enough, for living authors, the prices at Phoenix Pick tend to be reasonable. Only with the dead ones it's expensive.

In the PC game arena, another great example would be Steam. A lot of people buy games from it over DRM free sources (like Good old Games)? Why, partially because people really really like Steam, but also because they frequently have sales with insane discounts, 50-80%.

Yes, get rid of DRM, remove geo-restrictions to open up competition, set reasonable prices, consolidate on epub, and the industry will fly!

[xg4bx]

Originally Posted by JeremyR

I personally think that pricing is the big sticking point.

Say every dead author still in copyright had his/her estate sell their e-books for a $1 a piece. I would be in hog heaven, so to speak, spending pretty much all the spare money I have. (I read about 400 pages a day, so I can go through older, shorter books quick)

But instead, most sell their e-books for $9.99-$12.99.

if i have the choice between a new book or an old book i've probably read before i'm taking the new book every time. the "classics" priced themselves far out of my budget.

[wannabee]

I just bit my tongue.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by wannabee

I just bit my tongue.

Yes, but I saw the email!

[wannabee]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Yes, but I saw the email!

Yeah! I was waiting for that. Bugger! I mostly speak first then repent.
The regular joke is....two cannibals were eating Mark and one said to the other. Does this taste strange to you?

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by frahse

---
Copy protect on digital. -O.K.
---

((Ken, there is your DRM hook))

Then I take it that all that of your earlier post was to say that, as an
author, the choice to use DRM on your ebooks is an option offered by
your "Publisher and Seller". That it is your choice.

If you also meant to say that the author must agree to whatever the
"Publisher and Seller" offer, due to the fear that they might not publish
your book, if you were to chose otherwise; I didn't see that in your post.
(And that would be an awfully wimpy approach to such negotiations, for
a guy with a "good day job".)

So, you would suggest that we should blame the Author's choices? Then
perhaps, we should be sure that authors are the ones reading the study,
and taking it to heart.

Luck;
Ken

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by JeremyR

In the PC game arena, another great example would be Steam. A lot of people buy games from it over DRM free sources (like Good old Games)? Why, partially because people really really like Steam, but also because they frequently have sales with insane discounts, 50-80%.

Steam is a great example of DRM done right. At its very core, Steam is a DRM system first and foremost, and its goal is to ensure that you and only you ever get to use the copy of the game that you bought from them. With unlimited reinstalls on as many computers as you want. At the same time, as long as only one of your logins is online and the others are in off-line mode. Combine that with the community, the store and their border-line insane discounts when the big sales come along, and you have success on your hands, while making most of your customers forget that what you're actually selling them is a mandatory DRM system.

And I prefer GOG for my older games. Their prices are good enough, there is no DRM, and they run on Windows 7.

[kjk]

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

Steam is a great example of DRM done right. At its very core, Steam is a DRM system first and foremost, and its goal is to ensure that you and only you ever get to use the copy of the game that you bought from them. With unlimited reinstalls on as many computers as you want. At the same time, as long as only one of your logins is online and the others are in off-line mode. Combine that with the community, the store and their border-line insane discounts when the big sales come along, and you have success on your hands, while making most of your customers forget that what you're actually selling them is a mandatory DRM system.

And I prefer GOG for my older games. Their prices are good enough, there is no DRM, and they run on Windows 7.

Isn't the Kindle system similar in those regards?
1) A DRM system first and foremost
2) Unlimited reinstalls on as many devices as you want-including Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and the cloud.
3) Community, Store, and discounts
4) Most customers (MR readers aside) don't even notice the DRM system.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

Then I take it that all that of your earlier post was to say that, as an
author, the choice to use DRM on your ebooks is an option offered by
your "Publisher and Seller". That it is your choice.
....

Luck;
Ken

I think that is the case for most. They simply want to hand the Publishing over the the publisher and probably feel they don't have a choice about DRM, and may just go along with the publishers recommendation.

What we need (as you say) more education and exposure of this study and related information to authors that sign the publishing contract.

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by kjk

Isn't the Kindle system similar in those regards?
1) A DRM system first and foremost
2) Unlimited reinstalls on as many devices as you want-including Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and the cloud.
3) Community, Store, and discounts
4) Most customers (MR readers aside) don't even notice the DRM system.

That I don't know, I don't have a Kindle.

I do have the Kindle app on my TouchPad that I started playing around with a few days ago, but I doubt that's the same thing. At least I hope it's not, I'm less than impressed so far.

[stonetools]

I clicked through to the article . The source of the link is some entity named " Torrent Freak" and there is no link to the actual study.

In other news, The Russian Communist Party says there is a new study that proves Joseph Stalin wasn't all that bad.

[scoff]

Originally Posted by stonetools

I clicked through to the article . The source of the link is some entity named " Torrent Freak" and there is no link to the actual study.

In other news, The Russian Communist Party says there is a new study that proves Joseph Stalin wasn't all that bad.

I think this is the actual news item from Rice University. Engadget just found the post via TF.

http://www.media.rice.edu/media/News...=VIEW&ID=16282