When you’re trying to convince consumers to buy new products, why throw a hassle into using those new products? It’s been proven that DRM is a drag on new markets when it impeded the growth of the digital music and movie industries, generating more piracy and hostility than sales. Why do they think it will work with eBooks?
New World - Old Control
DRM is dying out of the music industry, though it lags and maintains a tenuous hold on DVD publishing. That being the case, one has to wonder why eBooks are being saddled with the restrictive software.
Amazon.com and Adobe are big proponents of DRM (Digital Rights Management) and continue to offer work that is exclusive to their eBook formats with these digital locks in place. They should know better, yah?
Adobe has loosened up a bit, but still allows their locked eBooks to be read on only a small number of computers or devices with the proper permissions, rather than allowing the buyer a ‘read-anywhere’ purchase agreement.
A story at computerworld.com continues this discussion in depth but here’s the gist: why try to control a fragile marketplace that is barely crawling yet?
Smart publishers will bypass DRM altogether and simply sell a product and as time goes on brave publishers will ditch it too. And it’s in their best interests to do so, with the net offering authors every freedom to bypass publishers and develop their own markets.
They should put their faith in their readers. Most people want to support their favorite artists, while few desire to support uncaring monopolies with outmoded values and mindsets.
