A pessimistic view of the future of book business

Barty · 02-05-2011, 06:30 PM

This author thinks digitization leads to DRM leads to piracy leads to collapse of the book business (at least that's what I gathered from the article)

http://www.librarything.com/blogs/th...tegory/ebooks/

There's a reason JkRowling hasn't released the Potter books in e form, and it's not because she tires of making money; she probably worries snooks will devalue Harry.

Histerius · 02-05-2011, 08:07 PM

It is true that digitalization makes copying very easy, but I think that all those "all industry will fall down" articles means just one thing: the author has no idea. Technologies are changing the world for centuries, some industries don't exist any more, some new have arrived and economy goes on. To claim that music or books are doomed and there's nothing we can do about it is just the lack of ideas, the lack what to do next. Do I know what to do? I have no clue. But I also didn't see iPod coming and Steve Jobs did. The fact is that there is a very small number of people who are creative enough to create something revolutionary new and establish new ways of doing business or a completely new industry. The rest of us can just follow. So, "newspapers are dead", "music industry is dead", "books will be dead" in fact means "the market is changing and I don't know what will follow in the years to come". So, don't take journalists (like me) and "industry gurus" for granted, they just don't have a clue what to do. And in the meantime enjoy reading on Kindle.

JeremyR · 02-05-2011, 08:44 PM

Eh. In all honesty, I have never looked. But I would imagine that every Harry Potter book is available in e-book form. So basically Ms. Rowling is just turning down free money.

And I actually suspect it's books not being available in e-book form that leads more to piracy, than books being in it.

"Hmmm, I can't buy a copy of Harry Potter. Maybe I can find one elsewhere. Oh, that was easy. Maybe I'll download these other books, too"

wvcherrybomb · 02-05-2011, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barty

There's a reason JkRowling hasn't released the Potter books in e form, and it's not because she tires of making money; she probably worries snooks will devalue Harry.

Harry's already out there and the only difference is she is not profiting from it. Not the best decision. In my opinion, most people who have the HP books would have gladly paid for them if only they were available.

If authors refuse to go digital they will lose profits as others will do it for them.

SamuraiXSendai · 02-06-2011, 06:50 AM

Media companies inevitably want to drain every last dollar from old technology without having the guts to take a chance on the new. Read "Appetite for Self Destruction" for insight into the music business and how they let Itunes eat them alive.

TenaciousBadger · 02-06-2011, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeremyR

Eh. In all honesty, I have never looked. But I would imagine that every Harry Potter book is available in e-book form. So basically Ms. Rowling is just turning down free money.

And I actually suspect it's books not being available in e-book form that leads more to piracy, than books being in it.

"Hmmm, I can't buy a copy of Harry Potter. Maybe I can find one elsewhere. Oh, that was easy. Maybe I'll download these other books, too"

I have looked! But haven't touched

since thankfully for Ms. Rowling "Harry Potter" is not my cuppa. I enjoy the films. Pay to see them but I wouldn't read those tomes for a truckload of money.

What amuses me is how people just refuse to realise that where there is a will there;s a way. Where there;s a demand, fans pool their resources, join forces and make it happen. Her fans have actually OCR'd or typed all thousands upon thousands of pages.

chyron8472 · 02-06-2011, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wvcherrybomb

Harry's already out there and the only difference is she is not profiting from it. Not the best decision. In my opinion, most people who have the HP books would have gladly paid for them if only they were available.

Myself included.

Yes, I do have Harry Potter on my Kindle. No, I don't think it's wrong, since I bought the whole series in hardback (some books twice). Yes, I would buy them immediately if they were made available for sale... BUT THEY'RE NOT.

I'm sorry, but Rowling is an idiot for not capitalizing on the ebook market.

SteveEisenberg · 02-06-2011, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wvcherrybomb

Harry's already out there and the only difference is she is not profiting from it. Not the best decision.

I'm sure she has enough money, so I don't know where profits come in.

Many kids who would read her eBooks will not do so because their parents forbid piracy, and they obey that particular rule. That's one difference.

As for why Rowling hasn't wanted to allow eBooks, a quick google search indicates that she is not saying.

In my personal opinion, when you combine a reading device with a gaming device, it's plausible that time devoted to extended blocks of reading will go down. Last week, over at kindleboards.com, I suggested, to a real live Kindle active content programmer, the development of a comprehensive parental controls application for sale at Amazon.com. His or her reply was that that "most of those things aren't accessible from apps." In other words, the reason most of the Kindle applications sold at amazon.com are games, rather than reading experience enhancers, is because amazon programming documentation does not explain how to access all device features. Amazon is not my favorite company

If I knew that the number one eBook reading device was also a game machine with minimal parental controls, and I was a wealthy children's book author, I would decline to put my books on it.

chyron8472 · 02-06-2011, 11:26 AM

It's not a game machine. People play games on graphing calculators and Palm Pilots. That doesn't make them game machines.

I can't understand the argument of "Rowling has enough money, so why should she care?"... She should care about making her books available for sale to people who want to buy them. And "it's already available in physical form" isn't an excuse, because that's like saying that if a band made it multi-millions on an album that's available on CD, then they already have enough money so why should they bother to release it on MP3 at Amazon or iTunes. The argument make little sense.

Besides, Rowling isn't the only one who stands to profit from this. Her publishers would also make money from it, and I'm sure they're not happy about the situation either.

02-05-2011, 06:30 PM	#1
Barty doofus Posts: 2,529 Karma: 13088847 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kindle Voyage	A pessimistic view of the future of book business This author thinks digitization leads to DRM leads to piracy leads to collapse of the book business (at least that's what I gathered from the article) http://www.librarything.com/blogs/th...tegory/ebooks/ There's a reason JkRowling hasn't released the Potter books in e form, and it's not because she tires of making money; she probably worries snooks will devalue Harry.

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02-05-2011, 08:07 PM	#2
Histerius Zealot Posts: 126 Karma: 7922 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Zagreb, Croatia Device: Kindle 3 - Galaxy Tab 10.1	It is true that digitalization makes copying very easy, but I think that all those "all industry will fall down" articles means just one thing: the author has no idea. Technologies are changing the world for centuries, some industries don't exist any more, some new have arrived and economy goes on. To claim that music or books are doomed and there's nothing we can do about it is just the lack of ideas, the lack what to do next. Do I know what to do? I have no clue. But I also didn't see iPod coming and Steve Jobs did. The fact is that there is a very small number of people who are creative enough to create something revolutionary new and establish new ways of doing business or a completely new industry. The rest of us can just follow. So, "newspapers are dead", "music industry is dead", "books will be dead" in fact means "the market is changing and I don't know what will follow in the years to come". So, don't take journalists (like me) and "industry gurus" for granted, they just don't have a clue what to do. And in the meantime enjoy reading on Kindle.

02-05-2011, 08:44 PM	#3
JeremyR Guru Posts: 973 Karma: 2458402 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: St. Louis Device: Kindle Keyboard, Nook HD+	Eh. In all honesty, I have never looked. But I would imagine that every Harry Potter book is available in e-book form. So basically Ms. Rowling is just turning down free money. And I actually suspect it's books not being available in e-book form that leads more to piracy, than books being in it. "Hmmm, I can't buy a copy of Harry Potter. Maybe I can find one elsewhere. Oh, that was easy. Maybe I'll download these other books, too"

02-06-2011, 06:50 AM	#5
SamuraiXSendai Addict Posts: 229 Karma: 1234 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Earth Device: Kindle 1. Kindle 2. IPAD. KDXG. Kindle 3.Fire	Media companies inevitably want to drain every last dollar from old technology without having the guts to take a chance on the new. Read "Appetite for Self Destruction" for insight into the music business and how they let Itunes eat them alive.

02-06-2011, 11:26 AM	#9
chyron8472 Groupie Posts: 180 Karma: 558490 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Kindle 5, Amazon Fire 5th Gen, Moto Z Play Droid	It's not a game machine. People play games on graphing calculators and Palm Pilots. That doesn't make them game machines. I can't understand the argument of "Rowling has enough money, so why should she care?"... She should care about making her books available for sale to people who want to buy them. And "it's already available in physical form" isn't an excuse, because that's like saying that if a band made it multi-millions on an album that's available on CD, then they already have enough money so why should they bother to release it on MP3 at Amazon or iTunes. The argument make little sense. Besides, Rowling isn't the only one who stands to profit from this. Her publishers would also make money from it, and I'm sure they're not happy about the situation either.

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