Here’s an interesting application of the old model on the new. Sell a ‘bricks and mortar’ book about ‘free’ digital content. Hilarious. Dissecting “FREE” means money. Reuters has an excellent article here about new titles devoted to just such a thing.
It seems too simple to require continuous study. I suppose giving the ‘free’ content away to promote sales doesn’t make any sense if you’re an old world publisher where constantly reporting greater quarterly profits is the mandate. The new model gives away content to create a broader audience that will purchase greater numbers of lower priced digital products, thereby diminishing individual profits while increasing the number of individuals who profit. Think fair price. Think relationships between creators and consumers. Think increased volume of sales.
Other than their rabid desire to maintain pre-digital age profits, I do not know why publishers fail to understand this. A ‘free’ eBook is a direct analog for the library or ‘borrowed’ book. This sort of ‘freemium’ was in use minutes after Gutenberg printed his first bible, yah?
