Are DRM infections dying out?

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by tompe

The choose field for a write is to write. I do not think that there are more opportunities for a musician than a writer to earn money in the choosen field (the field is writing for the writer...).

I disagree, but that's okay. My husband is a musician and he played a lot of venues. Most of them paid. Perhaps it was timing, but there are not a lot of paid opportunities for writers--regardless of fiction or non-fiction. I can write essays or non-fiction but there is little market for them (believe me, for years I submitted various articles to magazines, travel blogs, etc. I've had two recipes published, one travel story and a finance article. The one recipe/article was published in a subscription magazine and was unpaid.) I've had numerous short stories published and they were all paid, but the highest payment was 100 dollars. The number of short stories written and submitted were mostly unpaid--and that is a lot of time to spend on something for no pay. I'm not complaining, I'm merely submitting evidence for my claim. Writers do make money by writing articles, ghost writing, etc. I just happen to think there are more opportunities for musicians. It's only my opinion. I suspect there are plenty of musicians out there who would argue with me.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Fluribus

They could have done discounting without removing DRM.

No, they couldn't.
After Playsforsure failed they had no viable DRM-based alternative to Apple, it was DRM-free or keep on bowing to Apple.

Once they did DRM-free and Apple saw they were serious, Apple allowed variable pricing and windowing. And they got what they wanted, but only as long as there is no lock-in; they released *everything* without DRM. No going back.

Music is not books, whether sold through physical media or in digital form.
Even the piracy is different; the biggest ebook pirates never bother to open most of the content they accumulate--nobody can live that long.
And on the music side, even if an act's entire catalog is pirated, they still have revenue streams--many from the very pirates, who may not be willing to pay for a Cd or download but will happily pay to atend a live performance. And if not, they can be paid to appear and perform at public venues.

I'm not a fan of DRM but I do understand that what works for music won't necessarily work for ebooks. The businesses are too different.

Tor, for one, can experiment with DRM-free and if they don't like what they get, they still have the option to DRM future releases. Or future sales of the same titles. So let's not get too excited about that.

When it comes to selling ebooks, nobody knows anything for sure; everybody is fumbling through the fog of the disruption.

[BearMountainBooks]

When it comes to selling ebooks, nobody knows anything for sure; everybody is fumbling through the fog of the disruption.

This is so true. The two aren't the same and at this point, I don't think anyone knows where it will end up--or where it should end up so that readers and authors/publishers benefit. And as soon as we get there, it will change because that is the nature of business!

[camiller]

For what it is worth prior to sometime in 2010 Amazon required DRM regardless of whether or not the publisher/author wanted it or not.

[Fluribus]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Music is not books, whether sold through physical media or in digital form.
Even the piracy is different; the biggest ebook pirates never bother to open most of the content they accumulate--nobody can live that long.

While I disagree with what they're doing. Those people are not lost sales. They would have never bought the book.

And on the music side, even if an act's entire catalog is pirated, they still have revenue streams--many from the very pirates, who may not be willing to pay for a Cd or download but will happily pay to atend a live performance. And if not, they can be paid to appear and perform at public venues.

How much of that live revenue does the label get? The DRM issue is more about the publishers than the published.

When it comes to selling ebooks, nobody knows anything for sure; everybody is fumbling through the fog of the disruption.

Such is the case in nearly all arenas.

[GreenMonkey]

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

The vast majority of essays, reviews and articles don't pay. (Reviews very seldom pay and most authors avoid doing reviews because it can cause them problems with other authors.)

Yes, we can work. And so do most musicians. That doesn't change the fact that they have more opportunities to make money in their chosen field. And I'm not saying it's easy for them, just that there are other opportunities to show their skills and gain an audience for their work. Me writing an essay (paid or not) isn't necessarily a good showcase for my urban fantasy. Sure, we can swizzle some articles, but most readers I talk to don't even agree that a short story is a good way to "sample" an author. An essay is removed even further from a book, while a musician can play the exact songs he sells whenever given the opportunity. And hearing a live song may make you want to hear it again. Hearing a story told aloud...once you know the ending...well, it's different. Some people won't care if they ever "read" it again.

I am more likely to give an author my money than a musician or a movie studio.

There's multiple revenue streams for them. Authors really only make money on royalties. Maybe on a book tour they make a little (I dunno).

That said, I pretty much never buy an author blind. DRM hurts loaning books to friends which I think drives sales. I think a lot of sales are generated by being loaned an author's book, or reading an author's book at the library.

For example, I just bought Brandon Sanderson's latest ebook on a sale a few days back. If I hadn't read his other books through other channels than buying (library, used, other), I would never have bought that one blind. Of course, it was DRM-free. I probably wouldn't have bought it otherwise (principle of the matter - buying DRM encourages DRM).

[Freeshadow]

BMB: wouldn't offering autographed (or dedicated) copies of ebooks via your own site be an idea? Just a shot in the dark - I don't know how strong the fanbase loyalty in your genre is.

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by Freeshadow

BMB: wouldn't offering autographed (or dedicated) copies of ebooks via your own site be an idea? Just a shot in the dark - I don't know how strong the fanbase loyalty in your genre is.

I do sell copies of ebooks via my own site (see signature line for BMB store; it's the first line.) and I autograph any print copy upon request (I don't charge extra for it, but it usually costs me more because if the book is sent to me to sign, I have to send it back. That is not a big deal and unless I suddenly have thousands of requests, it's very doable and I'm honored to do be asked.)

Signings are unpaid, although the author gets royalties from the sale. Many authors do provide the books for the bookstore (yes, even traditional authors have to sometimes bring them. The store buys the books from the author in that case, and then resells them to the public.) Libraries also do signings this way (either buying the books from the publisher or the author and reselling them). Libraries and bookstores sometimes prefer buying the books right from the author because they then don't have to send any back. They sell whatever gets sold and the author then takes away the rest (minus a book or two for the store to keep in stock.) Even in the case where the retailer buys too many, authors will sometimes buy the extra stock because they know the books will be stripped of covers and "returned." (Retailers never actually ship books back--they discard them and get "credit" for other purchases.)

The bigger the name, the less the author has to be involved. For large signings the publishers handle all the details and will usually cover travel, meals and other expenses. The vast majority of traditional authors have to pay most of their travel expenses (they don't have to pay for the books, but if they want to take along extra books in case the store doesn't get any in or they need extra, this comes out of their pocket initially.) It is common for signings to be arranged, but the books don't show up or there aren't enough of them, etc. Many authors keep a stock "in the trunk" in case the books don't arrive. Sometimes it's the retailer (they forget to order), sometimes the publisher doesn't get them sent, etc.

Obviously self-published authors cover all costs for signings. Many bookstores won't do a signing for self-published authors because they don't have the "draw" necessary. It helps if we get together with another writer and do a dual signing. These are often the most successful, even for trad authors.

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by GreenMonkey

I am more likely to give an author my money than a musician or a movie studio.

There's multiple revenue streams for them. Authors really only make money on royalties. Maybe on a book tour they make a little (I dunno).

That said, I pretty much never buy an author blind. DRM hurts loaning books to friends which I think drives sales. I think a lot of sales are generated by being loaned an author's book, or reading an author's book at the library.

For example, I just bought Brandon Sanderson's latest ebook on a sale a few days back. If I hadn't read his other books through other channels than buying (library, used, other), I would never have bought that one blind. Of course, it was DRM-free. I probably wouldn't have bought it otherwise (principle of the matter - buying DRM encourages DRM).

Loaning helps to a point, but it's not ideal with ebooks because you never know if the person you're loaning it to is going to hand it to 12 other people, etc. I do participate in various loaning sites such as lendleme and my books are loanable. I am also working on getting the ebooks into a library program in Houston. The print copies are available in two or three libraries in the US.

We have to play all sides of the game to attract readers.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

We have to play all sides of the game to attract readers.

Visibility, visibility, visibility.
Its a tough row to hoe.
(Good luck!)

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by GreenMonkey

That said, I pretty much never buy an author blind. DRM hurts loaning books to friends which I think drives sales.

I must respectfully disagree. DRM is essential to facilitate loaning. Without DRM - to prevent you from reading the book while your friend has it, and to ensure that it times out on your friend's reader - it's not loaning, but piracy, plain and simple. I always advocate removing DRM for personal use, but "personal use" is the key. If you're removing it to facilitate piracy, that's wrong.

[EowynCarter]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I must respectfully disagree. DRM is essential to facilitate loaning. Without DRM - to prevent you from reading the book while your friend has it, and to ensure that it times out on your friend's reader - it's not loaning, but piracy, plain and simple.

Are you serious ??
As most of time books won't be-read it changes noting....

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by EowynCarter

Are you serious ??
As most of time books won't be-read it changes noting....

Yes, of course I'm serious. Giving someone a copy of an ebook without the permission of the copyright holder is the very definition of piracy.

[Sregener]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Yes, of course I'm serious. Giving someone a copy of an ebook without the permission of the copyright holder is the very definition of piracy.

And yet handing them your physical book so they can read it without the permission of the copyright holder is not.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Sregener

And yet handing them your physical book so they can read it without the permission of the copyright holder is not.

That's because you're not creating an additional copy of the book when you do that, so copyright law doesn't get involved. When you give someone a copy of an ebook you've created an additional copy of it. There was previously only one copy; now there are two. This is a situation where DRM is beneficial - it can allow legitimate "lending" of ebooks.