DRM News

Currently there are a number of formats for e-books and a number of e-book readers, some of which have proprietary e-book formats. The problem with this is that while one of your favourite authors may be read on one reader, not all of your favorites will be available on that reader. This is extremely frustrating as it completely defeats the purpose of being able to have one small device hold the books you want to read. Back when I could afford to buy a reader I looked at which one would best suit my purposes and which authors I could read with them. Which did I buy? None of them. Too many authors spread out among the readers would mean I would have to spend nearly $1,000 just the readers alone. Add the cost of putting my large library of books on them and it just wasn’t worth it. How many other people have come to the same conclusion I have?

I’ve been saying for awhile now that there needs to be one format and that the readers can compete as electronics has always competed. Stereos, cassette players, CD players, MP3 players, all centre around one format and its the pluses and minuses of the electronics that sell the players. This benefits the artists so that their music can be heard no matter the player you are using. This is not the case with e-books. Publishers have to decide which reader best suits them, which one gives them the best revenue back, who has the biggest store to push their authors, etc… None of this actually helps the authors, nor does it help the consumer.

I don’t overly blame the e-book reader manufacturers, although they are partly to blame, but the main culprits in this idiotic saga are the publishers themselves. Ars Techinca covered this.

"The problem still lies with publishing houses and their inability to talk to one another. Everyone is doing their own thing without any regard for readers or customers," Torres said. "Apple and Amazon would be toast if publishers really got their act together." 

It’s not only that they are doing their own thing; they are blind to the massive benefits of the digital world.

There’s another element that’s holding back publishers from unifying on a more widely compatible, open format. The old guard of publishers is at odds with the more progressive ones over how to handle e-books, adding to strife within the industry. Brooklyn-based writer Edward Champion expressed frustration after attending this year’s BookExpo CEO panel, noting that moderator Jonathan Galassi "maintained the old warhorse position that hardcovers would still be desired by 100 percent of book purchasers," and that Authors Guild president Scott Turow seemed to be completely oblivious to the fact that customers want e-books the same day hardcover versions are released.

Yes, you read that right. 100 percent of book purchasers will want hardcover books. Does he even live on the same planet as the rest of us? Music, movies and games have all been transferred to digital, the only one of those three that didn’t fight it was video games. The music industry tried to fight against digital music and lost, with a large loss of face as well. Movies are currently fighting now and they are going to lose that fight too. Now we have publishers fighting against the digital age. It just doesn’t make any sense. They are going to lose that fight when they should be jumping into the digital age and pushing for it to move forward so that it benefits them, the authors and consumers.

Both Champion and Torres seem to agree certain publishers are simply scared of the dangers of the online world. "Most publishers don’t want e-books at all," Torres said. They want to keep paper around as long as possible (sound familiar?) and, in lieu of that, they insist on heavy DRM on their e-books as they are dragged kicking and screaming into the digital world.

If this sounds like an echo of what the music and movie industry has said, get yourself a bigger hat, because you’re exactly right. Do book publishers live in a vacuum? Have they not seen how stupid the music and movie industries have looked to consumers? Not only are they fighting moving into the digital age, what they are planning is idiotic at best. Not planning on a single format that benefits them, and pushing for DRM when they do go into digital is just a sure-fire way to piss off your customers.

Are all publishers holding back? No. There are some who see the future and are working to move into the digital age. But, if the big fish in the pond don’t start working together its going to be a mess. There are plenty of reasons why publishers should get on board too, some just don’t see it.

I’m a huge reader, I currently read about 3 books a week. It would be great to be able to buy one reader, fill up an account with a crapload of books and be able to carry around a slim piece of electronics to read them with. I love the idea of an e-book reader, but I’m not going to buy one until the book publishers grow up and come into the digital age.