Comments on: Tor and DRM and Libraries

By: N Swartzendruber (@SWONtech)

N Swartzendruber (@SWONtech) — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:26:47 +0000

I think it’s very reasonable to wonder about the details of this DRM-free experiment. But you know how publishers complain that they don’t have enough data about library ebook checkouts? Expect that this experiment’s results won’t get published either. If the experiment is a success, and DRM-free ebooks sell better (+ other conditions), Tor will have a competitive advantage. I wouldn’t expect them to give that up by sharing what they learned. We’ll probably have to intuit what they learned by watching their next moves.

“Experiment” does raise some red flags, but it then it seems like everything is an experiment these days. Lots of EULAs explain that a service can be shut down at any time. I don’t know if you remember when Google announced that they were going to shut down Google Video, with very little notice. Since many videos were only hosted there (and not YouTube), a crowd-sourced downloading effort was started to build an archive that could be uploaded to another site. Google relented, but they don’t always. Companies experiment with products and services, but they run those experiments on users/customers. So, nothing to worry about.

By: John Pansini

John Pansini — Mon, 07 May 2012 00:20:09 +0000

I was a librarian back in the 1980s, when I found myself involved in Soviet industrial espionage against the U.S. I became a double agent (controlled asset) for the FBI. I’ve published an ebook about my experiences. From the beginning, I decided not to have DRM on this ebook because it places too much of a burden on readers.

I also write a blog. Here is my latest post that librarians will find “intriguing”: http://roofmanthespy.wordpress.com/2012/05/06/in-the-beginning/#more-559

By: audacity843techtool

audacity843techtool — Fri, 04 May 2012 06:38:23 +0000

Baen’s been doing DRM-free for years, an experiment seemingly working for them because it is still in effect. Has ‘mainstream’ publishing not noticed Baen’s efforts because of a perception of genre audiences?

You’re right in the fact that DRM for libraries is not going away anytime soon. It will take a paradigm shift in the publishing world to realize the value of DRM-free to their sales efforts. It’s an understandable publisher’s viewpoint because non-DRM eBooks offered through libraries is seen as analogous to giving away for free your product which is counter to common sense for increasing sales.

Piracy will always exist. Those who want to will always figure out a way to get it free. That population is not your customer and never will be. Then there are those that like to share discovered authors and titles with friends and will still go out and buy titles from these discoveries. Those are your customers. Insisting on DRM removes the ability to expose authors to new customers. And let us not forget, DRM can be removed easily.

Here’s where maybe the shift in thinking can happen. Most authors won’t get rich writing; most won’t even make a living from writing. Publishers or agents may or may not convey that to writers but it is seemingly a fact of life. What can libraries do for publishers with a catalog full of writers trying for exposure in a world overexposed? Can libraries increase the worth of mid-list authors by keeping them circulating and in the public’s consideration? Wouldn’t this be better than mid-list (or less) authors getting lost in the Amazon shuffle?

By: Stephen Michael Kellat

Stephen Michael Kellat — Fri, 04 May 2012 02:11:56 +0000

This is why my ereader mostly contains Cites & Insights, titles from Baen Books, and converted Linux Documentation Project titles. At least they’re not broken by design…