Comments on: When the Smell of Books Becomes the Stench of DRM http://medialoper.com/when-the-smell-of-books-becomes-the-stench-of-drm/ Chasing the long tail of digital media Sat, 20 Mar 2010 12:18:23 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Smell of Books Fails the Sniff Test | Medialoper http://medialoper.com/when-the-smell-of-books-becomes-the-stench-of-drm/comment-page-1/#comment-27599 Smell of Books Fails the Sniff Test | Medialoper Wed, 01 Apr 2009 11:01:03 +0000 http://medialoper.com/?p=3426#comment-27599 [...] When you think about it, it’s surprising that Smell of Books is coming from a fringe company like DuroSport instead of a tech leader like Amazon. What’s more, DuroSport’s approach appears to be uncommonly clever. The company has managed to enter the ebook business while neatly sidestepping annoying technical challenges like device compatibility and DRM. [...] [...] When you think about it, it’s surprising that Smell of Books is coming from a fringe company like DuroSport instead of a tech leader like Amazon. What’s more, DuroSport’s approach appears to be uncommonly clever. The company has managed to enter the ebook business while neatly sidestepping annoying technical challenges like device compatibility and DRM. [...]

]]> By: The Daily Square — The Volcano Edition | Booksquare http://medialoper.com/when-the-smell-of-books-becomes-the-stench-of-drm/comment-page-1/#comment-27501 The Daily Square — The Volcano Edition | Booksquare Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:40:32 +0000 http://medialoper.com/?p=3426#comment-27501 [...] When the Smell of Books Becomes the Stench of DRMKirk hits a home run (oh, and the Kindle customer who buys books without seeming to know she’s done so? Moi.). [...] [...] When the Smell of Books Becomes the Stench of DRMKirk hits a home run (oh, and the Kindle customer who buys books without seeming to know she’s done so? Moi.). [...]

]]> By: The Daily Square - The Phantoms of Ephemera Edition | Booksquare http://medialoper.com/when-the-smell-of-books-becomes-the-stench-of-drm/comment-page-1/#comment-27488 The Daily Square - The Phantoms of Ephemera Edition | Booksquare Tue, 24 Feb 2009 04:58:41 +0000 http://medialoper.com/?p=3426#comment-27488 [...] When the Smell of Books Becomes the Stench of DRMKirk hits a home run (oh, and the Kindle customer who buys books without seeming to know she’s done so? Moi.). [...] [...] When the Smell of Books Becomes the Stench of DRMKirk hits a home run (oh, and the Kindle customer who buys books without seeming to know she’s done so? Moi.). [...]

]]> By: Kirk http://medialoper.com/when-the-smell-of-books-becomes-the-stench-of-drm/comment-page-1/#comment-27487 Kirk Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:16:49 +0000 http://medialoper.com/?p=3426#comment-27487 @David To your first point. That's an issue that should be of the concern to book publishers as they consider their digital future. I've heard a few people speculate that Amazon isn't all that interested in selling books. Whatever their motivation, the parallels between Amazon and Apple are pretty clear. Regarding DRM, my contention in this post is that Apple won because it offered DRM that the labels were demanding, while providing a superior user experience. Other DRM schemes lost because they couldn't compete with Apple on usability. The fact that the major labels were requiring *everyone* selling digital music to use DRM meant that consumers had to pick a format. In the end, they chose the format that provided the best user experience. I believe that the same thing will happen in the market for ebooks, and that Amazon will be the clear winner. @David

To your first point. That’s an issue that should be of the concern to book publishers as they consider their digital future. I’ve heard a few people speculate that Amazon isn’t all that interested in selling books. Whatever their motivation, the parallels between Amazon and Apple are pretty clear.

Regarding DRM, my contention in this post is that Apple won because it offered DRM that the labels were demanding, while providing a superior user experience. Other DRM schemes lost because they couldn’t compete with Apple on usability. The fact that the major labels were requiring *everyone* selling digital music to use DRM meant that consumers had to pick a format. In the end, they chose the format that provided the best user experience. I believe that the same thing will happen in the market for ebooks, and that Amazon will be the clear winner.

]]> By: David Gray http://medialoper.com/when-the-smell-of-books-becomes-the-stench-of-drm/comment-page-1/#comment-27486 David Gray Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:58:53 +0000 http://medialoper.com/?p=3426#comment-27486 "This is the reason why Apple dominates the marketplace for digital media" It should be noted that Apple makes far more money from hardware (iPod) than from content (songs). Apple's concerns are fundamentally different those of from music publishers who make money only from content. Also, Apple did come to dominate the marketplace for digital media *while using DRM*. So it's possible that flawed DRM (and other factors) caused the failure of other digital music retailers, not merely the existance of DRM. “This is the reason why Apple dominates the marketplace for digital media”

It should be noted that Apple makes far more money from hardware (iPod) than from content (songs). Apple’s concerns are fundamentally different those of from music publishers who make money only from content.

Also, Apple did come to dominate the marketplace for digital media *while using DRM*. So it’s possible that flawed DRM (and other factors) caused the failure of other digital music retailers, not merely the existance of DRM.

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