Do most people really care about ebook DRM?
Over the last year I’ve talked to a lot of people with e-readers. A majority of them have the Amazon Kindle, a few Sony Readers and a handful of the new Barnes & Noble Nook. Everyone says the same thing: They love their ebook reader. Those with the Kindle or Nook, which can download ebooks wirelessly tell me that they read a lot more with the e-reader than before.
Surprisingly (at least to me), the one subject that never comes up is DRM. I’ve “educated” a lot of newbies to the world of ebooks about the dangers of DRM, and most simply aren’t that worried about it. Their main concern is ease-of-use. Downloading an ebook via a wireless network with the touch of a button is quick and easy – instant satisfaction with no tech skills required.
I know I’m only speaking from anecdotal evidence, but it seems odd that for all the ranting I see around the blogosphere (myself included) about the evils of DRM, the average person isn’t that concerned. Most just want to buy an ebook for their device, read it and enjoy it.
So are the evils of DRM being blown out of proportion? I don’t think they are. Limiting how someone uses a product they buy is just plain wrong. If I buy an ebook and I want to share it with my wife (on a different device), I should be able to do so without any problems. Same goes if I want to share an ebook with a friend or other family member.
Furthermore, I think those of us that do keep DRM in the spotlight keep much-needed added pressure on publishers and e-retailers alike. If allowed to go unchecked, we’d see a lot more “incidents” like the one where Amazon remotely deleted a George Orwell novel from the Kindle.
I think a bigger concern than DRM is ebook pricing. This hits people right where it hurts: The pocketbook. No one wants to pay prices that are almost up there with the price of a hardcover, no matter how hard publishers try to justify it. One of the big selling points of ebooks is the lower prices.
In the end, I really think ease-of-use and pricing are the two biggest concerns the average ebook consumer has. DRM might be right up there for some of us, but not those I’ve talked to.
What is your biggest concern when it comes to ebooks: Price? Ease-of-use? DRM? Or all three? Leave a comment below and share your opinion.
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Read More: Technology, eBooks
I think you’re quite correct that most consumers don’t bother thinking about the issue of DRM as long as they are not inconvenienced by it during purchase. It’s an abstract issue and a typical person is interested in getting the ebook to read. Even when aware of DRM, a person might not care because he or she just intends to read the ebook and then likely delete it.
Now, down the road as some unsuspecting readers build up digital libraries and then run into problems during an inevitable device change/upgrade, then more consumers might squawk.
I personally don’t apply DRM to my ebooks for 2 reasons. 1) Some readers don’t like it, and 2) implementing it into my production and delivery process would cost money and likely trigger customer service headaches. (Was that 3 reasons?)
Personally I don’t think DRM would prevent me from buying a product, but I’d rather not have it there.
I already spend so much time in front of a computer that I don’t see myself ever using an ebook. I’d rather grab a cheap read from a second hand store or something from one of the excellent local writers here in Vancouver BC Canada. Convince me why I need ebooks. My mind is open…
Susan´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday
There is one thing, and one thing only, that prevents me from purchasing an ebook reader. That is the fact that I would, essentially, be forced to re-purchase every book I currently own in print.
If one of the producers of the readers could come up with a way for a consumer to be granted rights to an electronic copy of books they own in print, I would be there in a heartbeat.
I’ve already come up with one solution, that also reduces the risk of cheating the system. If only I knew who to contact about implementing it…
DRM is a real money spinner for the publishers. When you buy a print book, you have it for life. You can lend it to friends and family, sometimes they even give it back, and it is your property. That is worth paying the money for.
With DRM protected books, you can read it on limited devices for a start. You can’t transfer it to other devices easily, and they are virtually imposible to share.
When you get a new device, you’ll need to buy another copy. That’s like buying new books every time, you get new glasses.
What a rip off! How unfair is that?
I love my iPad and having ibooks when I travel but this is really taking the joy out of it.
Most don’t care until they find out they can’t move their Kindle book to their iPad or vice versa (insert Sony reader, Nook reader etc).
THEN they get pissed off.
I buy only ADEPT (Adobe’s DRM encryption) encrypted ebooks and remove the encryption – which is not hard. That way, I read books I bought in my Sony reader or my iPad.
http://vivaebooks.blogspot.com/2009/10/iphone-reading-adobeepub-ebooks.html