tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694092506511551308.post6630812814643465372..comments2023-04-12T10:45:21.979-04:00Comments on Deathday Letters: Readers Unite? WTF?!?Shaun Hutchinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01480241164653893038noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694092506511551308.post-65895221200182670872014-08-13T08:31:04.921-04:002014-08-13T08:31:04.921-04:00I agree. The arguments for keeping DRM are all BS...I agree. The arguments for keeping DRM are all BS. The piracy fears are overblown. Frankly, I want people to pirate my books. If I wasn't sure I'd get in trouble for it, I'd throw my ebooks out on The Pirate Bay myself. Obscurity is a way bigger problem for me than piracy.<br /><br />We've talked about this before, but I think that it publisher's imprints really took the initiative to brand themselves and sell direct to readers in a DRM-free, open format (like EPub) they could increase author royalties and lower prices (because they'd be cutting out the middle man) and take control of their destinies back from Amazon. Sadly, I fear they think too short term. Amazon is playing the long game and winning, and rather than trying to fight them there, Publishers are simply reacting out of fear. It's really a shame to watch.Shaun Hutchinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01480241164653893038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694092506511551308.post-79814516880579055042014-08-13T08:17:42.996-04:002014-08-13T08:17:42.996-04:00I honestly don't understand why so many of my ...I honestly don't understand why so many of my friends, who are smart people, <i>trust</i> that Amazon actually has writer's (or even reader's) best interests at heart.<br /><br />Amazon cares about very few things:<br /><br />Their bottom line.<br />Increasing their market share.<br />How their shareholders vote.<br /><br />Maybe a couple other things, but all related to profits. They are a for-profit corporation operating in a capitalist society. They have no obligation to give a shit about anything else.<br /><br />As a reader, all I really want is a DRM-free, non-region-locked, device-specific e-copies to come with every hardcover I buy, direct from the publisher. I gladly pay nearly twenty dollars for books from authors who I already know and therefore trust I will enjoy. <br /><br />Sadly, this doesn't seem likely.<br /><br />Sigh. Thanks for a thoughtful, measure take on the whole thing, Shaun.Matthew MacNishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264738483763244969noreply@blogger.com