Cory Doctorow is somewhat of a pioneer in the open model as it applies to authors. He convinced his publisher to allow him to put digital copies of his books on his site to be downloaded for free. The result is that he’s sold tens of thousands of print books, and continues to preach the open model of publishing.
He recently approached several companies and asked if he could make his books available without DRM, as well as encouraging his readers to visit his site and share the books for free.
Why would a company do this? People would buy the e-book through Amazon, realize they can get the rest of his books for free, and not return to the store. A company would be crazy to allow this, right?
In the end, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo allowed him to do just that, while Apple and Sony did not.
What Amazon, B&N, and Kobo get is that digital copies are a means to another end. Many people will buy a Doctorow book, and never come back. Others, however, will enjoy the book and decide they want print versions. There is a good chance they’ll come back to Amazon or B&N to buy that print version. They’re giving away the razors hoping that some will comes back for the blades.
In the article, Doctorow raises a very good point, and reminds authors that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) makes it illegal for even copyright holders to crack the DRM on their own works. From the article:
“At that point, DRM and the laws that protect it stop protecting the wishes of creators and copyright owners, and instead protect the business interests of companies whose sole creative input may be limited to assembling a skinny piece of electronics in a Chinese sweatshop.”
So Cory, what do you really think? :)
If you’re an author interested in the open model, it sounds like Amazon, B&N, and Kobo are the way to go.
Thanks to Trent Cameron for the heads up on this article.
