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Why eBook DRM Has To Go

Posted by Soulskill on from the because-we-don't-want-a-bezosopoly dept.

Sci-Fi author Charlie Stross was recently put in the position of offering his thoughts to book publisher Macmillan on why eBook DRM is a terrible thing — not just for consumers, but for publishers, too. He makes a strong case that the removal of DRM, while not an immediate financial boon, will strongly benefit publishers in years to come through increased goodwill from users, greater leverage against Amazon's near-monopoly on distribution, and better platform interoperability. "Within 5 years we will be seeing a radically different electronic landscape. Unlocking the readers' book collections will force Amazon and B&N and their future competitors to support migration (if they want to compete for each others' customers). So hopefully it will promote the transition from the near-monopoly we had before the agency model, via the oligopoly we have today, to a truly competitive retail market that also supports midlist sales." Users have been railing against DRM for years, but it appears the publishers are finally starting to listen.

4 of 299 comments (clear)

  1. Re:"increased goodwill from users"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    You can't be serious.

    No really he's right. If we can get rid of the DRM, there will be some really nice people who will loan out their book collection to a million or so of their close friends.

  2. Re:"increased goodwill from users"? by AngryDeuce · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yeah, just like Lily Allen, who said she was giving up music for good because of all those filthy pirates.

    Oh...I guess until her acting career didn't pan out, then it's back into the studio! Guess those pirates weren't such a drag after all.

    And, just because I love it so fucking much, Dan Bull's response to her 'quitting music'.

  3. Re:No One Hates DRM More Than Me ... by iluvcapra · · Score: 3, Funny

    a book that's under $3 and has the "Lend Me" sticker on it is frequently a no-brainer purchase for me.

    This is sorta the perfect business model -- acquire something, essentially for no cost, and price it where it is a "no brainer," so that even if it's crap the buyer never goes back for a refund or even internalizes the lesson that maybe he shouldn't buy cheap-ass things.

    And it isn't all cheap junk.

    An endorsement that rings across the ages.

    --
    Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
  4. Re:"increased goodwill from users"? by Jahta · · Score: 4, Funny

    There is a reason why the command to copy files is not: knockoff file copy_of_file

    $ alias knockoff="cp"

    There, fixed that for you!