Publishing is Changing…
Originally uploaded by Ian Wilson
Techdirt has a great article about publishing and the internet, and how the publishing model will need to change in the future. I’m sure you know about the RIAA and/or MPAA and their many lawsuits against users downloading their content without paying.
It doesn’t take much imagination to see it happening with books as well. It’s already possible to find books for illegal download online, and it’s probably only going to get worse as time goes on. Does that mean being a writer is going to become less profitable?
Many books are available electronically, and as devices like the Kindle, they’ll become even more popular. Even is a digital copy has DRM, it’s usually relatively easy to find out how to break the encryption and share the copy. What will writers and publishers do?
The record and movie industries have chosen the path of suing their customers and attempting to stop illegal downloading and file-sharing. We all know how well that’s worked so far; it’s not likely to work any better for the publishing industry.
Will writers have to work for free? Will mainstream publishing go under? Not necessarily. It may mean, however, that writers will need to find other ways to make money from writing, and so will publishers.
My favorite quote from the article: “We have to evolve and create a very different pay system, possibly by making the content available free to all and finding a way to get paid separately.”
That’s a healthy attitude to have. If an industry is inflexible and unwilling to change to react to the times, then, in my opinion, they’re already doomed.
April 19th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
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