12-25-2011, 03:55 AM | #1 | |
Connoisseur
Posts: 70
Karma: 536452
Join Date: Apr 2007
Device: Sony PRS-500/300/650, Kobo Aura H2O
|
Publishers vs. Libraries: An E-Book Tug of War
Publishers vs. Libraries: An E-Book Tug of War
Quote:
|
|
12-25-2011, 04:34 AM | #2 |
Wizard
Posts: 1,594
Karma: 21245891
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Canada
Device: Kobo Libra h20, Paperwhite 2017, Phone & Tablet w Moonreader
|
That's where I am headed with my T1.
Granted, thats where I read my dtb's too. I simply don't have $15+ to drop on the latest and greatest. Just how worried are the publishers? Worried enough to remove DRM and make the price a bit more accessible? Didn't think so. Thus, the original reason I chose T1 as my reader remains. WiFi lending of library books and all the public domain books I desire. (In fact, the T1 was used to reserve 2 books the very day I registered it.) Last edited by spindlegirl; 12-25-2011 at 04:43 AM. |
Advert | |
|
12-25-2011, 08:22 AM | #3 |
Blue Captain
Posts: 1,595
Karma: 5000236
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Australia
Device: Kindle Keyboard 3G,Huawei Ideos X3,Kobo Mini
|
It is entertaining how their logic is schizoid.
Having books in bookshops is good - people can look at them for free and find new ones they might like - sales go up. Having our books in libraries is bad - people will find our books and then never ever buy them, because they can look at them for free. Oh, and we'll raise prices, too. That'll show those people that want to buy stuff. They'll have to buy not our books instead. So, lose all library sales, lose a bunch people finding stuff and liking it and then buying it sales. Lost a bunch of readers [hence cash] forever as they decide to not read, or read other stuff. Lost some of people's money as they look at other sources. Almost hilarious, really. Last edited by Blue Tyson; 12-25-2011 at 08:42 AM. Reason: irish cream |
12-25-2011, 08:28 AM | #4 |
Guru
Posts: 618
Karma: 1526148
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: A place where the sun always shines
Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Mini 2
|
This is just another example of how publishers are being short sighted with their e-book policy. One of the reasons I brought a Nook and then a Sony was because I would be able to borrow from the library. I understand that publishers worry that library e-books can be easily pirated but I seriously doubt the majority of borrowers even have that as a thought. Additionally, before most of the major publishers pulled e-books from libraries, Overdrive already had draconian terms governing how the books could be lent. E-books were treated like print books (only a set number of copy could be loaned at a time, libraries had to buy licenses for each copy, etc.). Additionally, e-books often cost more for libraries than print books. The publishers were already being greedy!
The publishers are fighting a losing battle. This isn't going to make more people buy their books. It's only going to make more people look at cheap alternatives like $0.99 e-books on Amazon or free alternatives in terms of the dark net. It will also make libraries look to cheaper and available alternatives as well. Publishers need to face reality. The digital revolution has finally reached books. They should either get down or lay down and stop trying to save a dying sales model that worked well in the print work but will kill them in the digital world. Last edited by faithbw; 12-25-2011 at 08:33 AM. |
12-25-2011, 08:45 AM | #5 |
PHD in Horribleness
Posts: 2,320
Karma: 23599604
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: In the ironbound section, near avenue L
Device: Just a whole bunch. I guess I am a collector now.
|
Ultimate in stupidity.
Providing books for the public is the only reason copyright exists at all. In abrogating the writers end of the social contract, there is every reason to belive that the ultimate result for the publishers on this will be society deciding copyright is an outdated concept. I will state that outright, and I'm a guy who never used napster or torrents. |
Advert | |
|
12-25-2011, 09:26 AM | #6 |
Wizard
Posts: 1,594
Karma: 21245891
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Canada
Device: Kobo Libra h20, Paperwhite 2017, Phone & Tablet w Moonreader
|
My entire DTB collection is founded upon previous library loans. It is how I personally become acquainted with books that are my favorites.
Books I decided that, after repeated loans, that borrowing them is simply not good enough, and next disposable income (I get cash gifts from relatives for birthdays and Christmas) I will get it! Yes it provides people who have a low budget to also read good literature too, but it's also a way to advertise and "try before you buy", and many people, myself included do actually buy when we know we are going to love what we are buying. The publishers' restrictive lending licenses are simply a joke. I have been using the same library for 17 years and have borrowed the same exact physical DTB copy repeatedly over the years of a favorite. I can tell by the physical wear and tear characteristics. (Dog ears, smudge stains etc). So even their comparison of e-books to DTB is completely and utterly flawed. Thankfully, most of my favorites (classics) are already available to me legally and freely via project gutenberg and mobileread. Newer materials by authors I've never heard of are available free or cheap, drm-free, on Smashwords. It's clear there are some businesses left, who do want to establish a popular base of people who prefer freedom in what they read, and unlimited personal use in what they buy. And yes, I will view any of the expensive books via the library, and if I love a book, and it's priced to entice me personally to buy it and is DRM-free, I'll definitely blow my entertainment budget on it. Until then, publishing companies clearly don't want me as a paying customer. |
12-25-2011, 09:45 AM | #7 | |
Guru
Posts: 826
Karma: 18573626
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Canada
Device: Kobo Touch, Nexus 7 (2013)
|
As seems to be the usual case when an old media industry is dragged into the digital age (see music, movies and videogames), producers have no hard facts but a lot of bad analogies they can apply. Does the hard data say easy lending is eating into book sales? No, but that doesn't stop publishers from having a lot of ill-informed opinions on the matter and making business decisions based on those.
I have a Kobo and make good use of being able to download library books, but I also buy way more books than I ever did before getting it. Quote:
|
|
12-25-2011, 10:21 AM | #8 |
Connoisseur
Posts: 53
Karma: 490454
Join Date: Mar 2011
Device: Sony 505
|
Publishers' Presumption #1: Downloading library e-books vs borrowing p-books from the library is a matter of convenience.
If I could borrow p-books from the local library I would. However, the local library is pathetic. Shelves half full - terrible selection - tremendous number are just simply missing. They recently stopped using Interlibrary Loan. This is the reason that I purchased my Sony. I got it on eBay for just under $50, including shipping. On-line library e-books in other areas have given me reading choices I not available at my local library. Publishers' Presumption #2: That library e-book lending equals lost e-book sales. I cannot afford the purchase of books - whether p-book or e-book. I am not their e-book customer. Many, many others are in the same situation as I. I have never used a torrent - yet - but just keep pushing me. . . . |
12-25-2011, 10:50 AM | #9 |
Connoisseur
Posts: 60
Karma: 12652
Join Date: Jul 2011
Device: Kobo
|
It's a joke. Baen has a good diatribe on the whole mess and Eric Flint wrote it several years ago! It's more valid today than it ever has been. And no, the publishers aren't in the right at all.
I'm wondering when the authors will rise up. This will hurt and limit sales. Shouldn't they get consideration if the publisher is deliberately reducing their ability to access a market? I would think so. |
12-25-2011, 11:16 AM | #10 |
Enthusiast
Posts: 37
Karma: 17260
Join Date: Dec 2011
Device: Kindle Paper White
|
The only logical argument the publishers have on this is the chance of pirating these books to distribute them for free. The problem is that is already happening and simply making them available through our local library isn't going to change that.
Today I was looking at a book at Amazon that interested me and immediately lost interest when I saw it was available new in paperback for $5.60 and for the Kindle $9.99. I know this issue has been hashed and re-hashed but until you allow me to give away or sell my ebooks to someone else don't charge me more for the ebook. What is interesting to me is that prior to ebooks I never gave any thought to book publishers just like the recording industry and MP3s. Now both are held in general disregard by the consumer. |
12-25-2011, 12:16 PM | #11 |
Spork Connoisseur
Posts: 2,355
Karma: 16780603
Join Date: Mar 2011
Device: Nook Color
|
Ugh. Publishers are really losing their minds here.
|
12-25-2011, 02:06 PM | #12 |
Wizard
Posts: 2,016
Karma: 2838487
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Washington, DC
Device: Ipad, IPhone
|
Did you guys read the article all the way to the end? I know that you guys all want to hammer on the publishers and all, but if you read the entire arctic,le, it made clear that:
1. Two major publishers were holding back from library lending. 2. Those publishers are holding back because they want to wok out an industry wide agreement. 3. The other majors participate in library lending, with one imposing restrictions on the number of times a copy could be lent. 4. Most smaller publishers are completely on board with library lending. Put like that, you can see that this isn't a big deal. This is link bait more than anything else. |
12-25-2011, 05:35 PM | #13 | |
Armed with a smile :)
Posts: 1,421
Karma: 2463560
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: California, USA
Device: enTourage eDGe & Pocket eDGe, Samsung Galaxy Note II
|
Quote:
Publishers please take note: As I did with paper books, I often borrow/discover titles and authors from the library before buying from a store. Please work out an agreement that allows those of us who love to read the best chance to encounter your books. Believe me, if they are any good we will want to own them! |
|
12-25-2011, 06:25 PM | #14 |
Guru
Posts: 973
Karma: 2458402
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: St. Louis
Device: Kindle Keyboard, Nook HD+
|
I think it's readers that have the entitlement complex, not publishers.
Firstly, that problem with physical book selection is exactly what publishers are worried about - real books wear out, get lost, get eaten by canines, etc. E-book don't. One e-book sold to a library can last forever, while a physical book's lifetime basically depends on how many times its read. Secondly, no one is entitled to entertainment for "free". Other than a few dozen authors like Stephen King or JK Rowling or Clive Cussler, the vast majority of authors are not well to do, most are struggling. Many work second (or first) jobs just to stay afloat, or do editing or work they don't really want to (like novelizations or licensed stuff) simply because they need the money. Why should they be doing all this work with no benefit? Providing you with entertainment with no compensation in return? That's the real reason for copyright - to encourage creation (granted, it's been taken too far these days, but that's another argument). Yes, to a degree giving away free stuff works for Baen (though they haven't been putting out many cds in the last year or so), but the authors choose to opt into the program, and Baen's audience tends to be those that don't believe in "entitlements". And if you really want free entertainment, there's a lifetime supply of books by long dead authors. |
12-25-2011, 06:49 PM | #15 | |
Blue Captain
Posts: 1,595
Karma: 5000236
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Australia
Device: Kindle Keyboard 3G,Huawei Ideos X3,Kobo Mini
|
Quote:
|
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Publishers Restricting Libraries: RIP Sony Readers? | randyflycaster | Sony Reader | 44 | 03-16-2011 07:28 PM |
Brazilian e-book publishers available? | pedgarcia | News | 0 | 09-30-2009 12:00 PM |
Publishers: look at the used book market when considering eBooks | nekokami | News | 17 | 11-25-2008 03:52 AM |
Science Fiction Leinster, Murray: Space Tug v1 20 nov 2008 | mtravellerh | Kindle Books (offline) | 0 | 11-20-2008 04:39 AM |
Science Fiction Leinster, Murray: Space Tug v1 20 nov 2008 | mtravellerh | BBeB/LRF Books (offline) | 0 | 11-20-2008 04:36 AM |