DRM Good or Bad?

[John F]

Originally Posted by Lazer

...
As far as which DRM scheme? Both my (ebooks) will be available on Barnes and Noble and Amazon and I really don't think there is a device out there that doesn't cover those two "schemes." ...

For a typical reader, they won't work on Kobo eInk devices and Sony Sony eInk devices. There are probably a lot of older devices they won't work on also.

[DrNefario]

I'll agree with what others have said here. DRM is a total waste of time. It just irritates legitimate customers without especially inconveniencing anyone who doesn't want to pay.

DRM is why I will never pay as much for an ebook as a pbook.

Make a good book and make it easy to buy, and people will buy it.

It is incredibly easy to buy a book from iTunes or Amazon. Way easier than trying to track down a pirate copy, but if you want people to find out where to go for pirate books, use DRM.

[spindlegirl]

I agree with everyone else. I just want to buy a book, go home and have it be mine. Just like with the CDs I've bought over the past 20 years, I still own them and can still play them. I also bought the CDs over many years and from a variety of stores and they all still play on my stereo, discman, and cd drive on my computer.

Prior to searching for which e-reader I wanted to obtain, I never knew the world of e-books was so complicated. I just assumed a bunch of text was a bunch of text. I didn't know prior, that the store you buy from determines whether or not the text can be read on the device you happen to have. To make a piece of text SO inflexible for personal use is a way to drive customers away.

Not everyone has a cell phone and/or an ipad. And 99% of the people who buy stuff have no interest in "emailing it around". They just want to buy the book and have the file be manageable permanently on their computer and their own devices of THEIR choice. Much like the CDs I purchased before my now adult children were born.

[VydorScope]

The deal is simple, DRM gets in the way of legit users, an ONLY effects them. People will break the law, will not care about DRM. Takes 5 mins in Google to see how to remove all DRM schemes, and then your protection is gone. If a person does not respect laws, rights, or etc, then you are not going to stop them, you can only irritate legit uses.

For example say, I have books that I bought with my Kindle, but now I have a Nook, with DRM I have to rebuy all my books? That is unreasonable. If books are DRM free, then I can just copy them over with a tool like Calbri.

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by VydorScope

For example say, I have books that I bought with my Kindle, but now I have a Nook, with DRM I have to rebuy all my books? That is unreasonable.

Well, you could pirate them...

I haven't spent any money at all on Kindle books, but I do get freebies that interest me for the Kindle app on my TouchPad. Books that I want that are not free, I buy from a DRM free source, or not at all. But it really, really, really annoys me that I can't take my Kindle books and put on my PRS-950, or on my cute little Libre Pro. They are forever locked to my TouchPad or my phone, and I will never be able to read them on an eInk device, at least not without spending time and effort stripping DRM and converting them to ePub. Another good reason not to spend money on books from that source...

[Lazer]

I'm glad I stuck the ladle in the soup and gave it a good stir. I didn't do this to upset anybody, just share another viewpoint. When I upload my new book to Amazon, if I recall, I'll have an option to select DRM. I'll check it. Most people reading off Kindles have no idea or interest in stripping the DRM off something they've purchased. For those of you that do, I really don't care, unless you start distributing my book for profit. That'd piss me off–and for those of you that don't buy DRM'd books, no problem, your not my market. (and I wish you the best BTW!)

"When you purchase a paper book, you have the right to sell, resell or lend your copy as you see fit. So why is it not the same for a digital version of the same book?"

My answer: Ebooks are different than print books. They should be priced with this in mind. That's why my books are double-priced between the ebook and print book (btw, my royalty is about the same). The print book may be worth more since you can sell it. And yes, you can loan an Amazon ebook.

"When you purchase a paper book, you have the right to sell, resell or lend your copy as you see fit. So why is it not the same for a digital version of the same book?"

My answer: It's no different than buying music from iTunes. Its yours and only yours and it's cheaper than buying the CD and paying the mailing and manufacturing costs. Wanna listen for a while and then sell it? Buy the CD. Same with a paper book these days.

I've read about sixty books on my Kindle. I doubt I'll ever go back and read them. They were purchased at a fairly reduced rate from what the print copy would have cost me. When I finally break the Kindle, I'll buy another one and re-upload any I feel I'd like back on it–but probably not. I don't normally re-read books–at least fiction. One of my life-problems I have is what do with the hundreds of paper books I have around the house. Frankly, I'm glad I don't have to find room for the sixty ebooks I've stashed in a folder labelled old reads.

And yes, I still buy an occasional paper book– usually some resource category–if I want to stick it on my shelf.

Read and write! It's a good thing. DRM? I'm fine with it but I've never had a problem with it either.

[Steven Lake]

Originally Posted by Ekaros

Bad, and useless. DRM doesn't stop pirates, it only hurts legitimate buyers...

Exactly right! Plus I've actually found that piracy is good for business. Seriously. Think about this. The biggest problem facing any and all authors is obscurity. Piracy helps to mitigate that to some degree. So I say let them pirate my stuff, because in the end I'm going to benefit from it, as pirates are more likely to buy your stuff than those who don't as they get to test drive it before buying.

Personally, I'd be more concerned if people DIDN'T pirate my stuff. If they weren't, it'd mean that either my stuff sucked, or it was the wrong book for the market. So in some respects piracy also helps with marketing as you find out who your target audience is, if the book is good/bad/other, and lots more. I've actually benefited hugely from taking an anti-drm, pro-piracy stance with my books. Now I don't believe in stealing, but I'm fine with people pirating my books as it means I'll get more sales and more eyeballs on my works than if it didn't happen. Sure, that seems weird for an indie author to say that, but time and again it's been proven true.

The vast majority of people who love DRM and hate piracy (not all, but certainly the greater degree) are those who are A) greedy, B) power or control hungry, and C) short sighted. Take for example one lady I was acquainted with. She was adamant about DRM and terrified of piracy. She was also a PHD who through her book (which repeatedly got reviewed at 1 star) was God's gift to literature that every major name, including Disney, would kick down her door to get their hands on. So I guess you could also add "delusional" to the list of those who hate piracy and love DRM. At least that's been my experience.

[Keloff]

Ars Technica reports on a study that found "[under certain conditions] eliminating DRM restrictions can lead to an increase in sales of legal downloads, a decrease in sales of traditional CDs, and a decrease in piracy"

"This is in stark contrast to the view that removing DRM will unconditionally increase the level of piracy.""

A game we all win: Dumping DRM can increase sales while reducing piracy

The research report is also available: Music Downloads and the Flip Side of Digital Rights Management Protection.

[VydorScope]

Lazer,

Hoenst question for you... DRM as you admit limits your audience. What is the gain you get for that limiting? Anyone that is going to copy your books illegally will still do it, DRM is not a deterrent as it has already been broken (check Google for how easy it is). So I guess my point is, DRM gains you nothing, but does restrict your potential audience, so I do not understand why you would do it?

I dont hate drm, just do not see the point.

[jgaiser]

Originally Posted by Lazer

I'm glad I stuck the ladle in the soup and gave it a good stir. I didn't do this to upset anybody, just share another viewpoint. When I upload my new book to Amazon, if I recall, I'll have an option to select DRM. I'll check it. Most people reading off Kindles have no idea or interest in stripping the DRM off something they've purchased. For those of you that do, I really don't care, unless you start distributing my book for profit. That'd piss me off–and for those of you that don't buy DRM'd books, no problem, your not my market. (and I wish you the best BTW!)

The problem is that DRM *just plain doesn't work*. You're correct, that a majority of the folks using Kindles and Nooks don't care. But if you think that adding DRM is going to protect your book from being pirated, you're dreaming. If your books become even somewhat popular, they *will* end up on the torrents. You've gained nothing and you've managed to bother a portion of your readership.

I'm not going to stop buying books with DRM. It's a simple (really it is) matter to remove it and just continue reading on my prefered device. But if my choice is to buy from Amazon with DRM or from Baen without, I'll go to Baen.

[anamardoll]

Heh. Not only do I not use DRM, I have a page in the book that states that the book is DRM-free and also encourages the reader to email me for a replacement copy if they believe the store erroneously applied DRM to the book. And I also have a line in there encouraging sharing, lending, copying, etc. -- right underneath the Creative Commons Copyright notice.

So, no, I don't use DRM and I think it is utterly valueless to me.

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by jgaiser

If your books become even somewhat popular, they *will* end up on the torrents.

Case in point: Harry Potter. They were on the torrent sites long before official eBooks were available.

[Lazer]

Originally Posted by VydorScope

Lazer,

Hoenst question for you... DRM as you admit limits your audience. What is the gain you get for that limiting? Anyone that is going to copy your books illegally will still do it, DRM is not a deterrent as it has already been broken (check Google for how easy it is). So I guess my point is, DRM gains you nothing, but does restrict your potential audience, so I do not understand why you would do it?

I dont hate drm, just do not see the point.

Here is my quote: "you that don't buy DRM'd books, no problem, you're not my market" –thus I didn't say DRM is limiting my audience. (maybe I'm wrong!) My first book HAS been pirated and I don't think I'm getting any benefit from it–it's a guide for the criminal investigator. Maybe I'm naive here but people that buy pirated books just aren't my market. My second book is about a criminal case I worked years ago about trafficking in wildlife with all sorts of ugly twists and turns.

I believe I know how to market these books and freebies IS part of that plan, but I want to control who gets the freebies.

Your second question: "What is the gain you get for that limiting?" And my answer: I sold a 142 copies of my first book last month. $710. That's my gain. I have no idea if any pirate copies moved but frankly I doubt it. Again, I don't think it's my market.

Egotistic? No, I don't think so–or no worse than any other two-bit author. Neither of 'em are going to make anybodies top 100 list. They will never be listed as classics. Brad Pitt isn't going to play me in the movie. Neither of them are going to significantly improve my income. Both of them are educational and will serve a tiny bit of good (or at least my ego believes that). And I'll make a small amount of money off them.

Sometime this spring I'm going to rewrite my will and have the ownership turned over to a wildlife conservation group. I hope after I move on, they get 100% royalty and it does a tiny bit of good––and not some pirate-guy that calls himself Kim Dotcom.

Fifty years ago, my father patented a device to slice home made bread in the kitchen. He had a mold made and a producer cranked 'em out. A large corporate food company cloned them and sold them without his permission. He didn't have the money to take the pirates to court and he lost his shirt over the deal. He was a hard working man that hopes to better his family.

I don't like pirating. It didn't do my father any good and nobody has convinced me it will help me increase my market.

For those of you that feel your marketing will be helped using non-DRM. Go with it. It's your choice, your work.

[Belle2Be]

So wait. You've found your book on a pirate site yet don't believe it's being pirated? That's awesome.

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by Lazer

Here is my quote: "you that don't buy DRM'd books, no problem, you're not my market" –thus I didn't say DRM is limiting my audience. (maybe I'm wrong!)

No, you're absolutely right. If you don't never wanted me to buy your book to begin with, you didn't limit your market by making sure that I never will. But if you want to sell to as large a crowd as possible, then putting DRM on your book is counter-productive to that goal

Originally Posted by Lazer

Your second question: "What is the gain you get for that limiting?" And my answer: I sold a 142 copies of my first book last month. $710. That's my gain. I have no idea if any pirate copies moved but frankly I doubt it.

You said earlier in your post it's been pirated, but you doubt it has been pirated?

The question we DRM-boycotters want you to ask is, "how much more could I have sold if I hadn't used DRM to my book?" If your answer to that is, "I don't care", that's your choice and your loss.

Originally Posted by Lazer

Fifty years ago, my father patented a device to slice home made bread in the kitchen. He had a mold made and a producer cranked 'em out. A large corporate food company cloned them and sold them without his permission. He didn't have the money to take the pirates to court and he lost his shirt over the deal. He was a hard working man that hopes to better his family.

This is so far from being even close to relevant to DRM on eBooks that I am baffled that you think it's a valid comparison.