SF author Charles Stross (Rule 34) says the only way for the publishers to get out from under Amazon’s shadow is to leave DRM behind.
… piracy is a much less immediate threat than a gigantic multinational with revenue of $48 Billion in 2011 (more than the entire global publishing industry) that has expressed its intention to “disrupt” them, and whose chief executive said recently “even well-meaning gatekeepers slow innovation” (where “innovation” is code-speak for “opportunities for me to turn a profit”).
via What Amazon’s ebook strategy means – Charlie’s Diary.
But again, these are publishers we’re talking about — people who are so slow to embrace any technological change it’s a miracle they’re all still not using typewriters. (They aren’t, right?)
The problem is, no “content company” worth its salt is going to distribute anything without some kind of content-protection measure. And with the line between distributors and creators quickly blurring, I’d say the idea that publishers should embrace a no-DRM distribution solution is simply not happening — at least, not until a generation or two of people who have experienced the annoyances of DRM firsthand can step up and take control.
The best copy protection system is easy availability, high production quality, and an affordable price.
