Surprising ideas emerged at the recent World E-Reading Congress in London, including advocacy for sustaining print books, abandoning DRM, partnering and more.
SURVEY: Should E-Book Publishers Abandon the Use of DRM?
Proponents of eliminating DRM say it will promote sharing and interoperability. Opponents cite the potential for piracy and the preservation of power. You?
Does E-book Sharing Create Economic Damage?
A fear of piracy is one thing, but a fear of sharing? If social reading and community building is the cornerstone of book marketing, then users must be trusted.
Spain’s Libranda Grows Up: E-reader, Library Lending Planned
Spanish e-book site Libranda has matured, partnering with Overdrive, it has migrated to the cloud, now offers library lending, and plans to launch an e-reader.
Spain’s B de Books Experiments with DRM-Free E-books, Self-published Authors
B de Books offers low cost, DRM-free e-books, and has signed many self-published authors, both innovations for a commercial Spanish publisher.
Ediciones B and Planeta Launch New E-book Imprints
Two Spanish publishers, Ediciones B and Planeta, have launched e-book imprints, and are now dealing with DRM and pricing.
German Self-Publishing, Where Innovation Meets Angst
In Germany old publishing habits die hard. But the country’s burgeoning self-publishing industry is challenging the status quo.
Better to Sell Fewer Books with No Piracy or Sell More with More Piracy?
Is it worth enduring piracy of digital content if it means higher sales overall?
Does the Fast-Evolving E-book Device/Platform Landscape Ultimately Benefit DRM-Happy Publishers?
By Edward Nawotka Have you been loyal to a single e-book device and platform or do you graze? I’ll admit, I’m neither device agnostic nor platform or retailer agnostic. I think of all the e-reading devices I own or have owned, including a Kindle (Gens 1 & 2), an iPad, a NookColor, a Franklin Reader, a Rocket E-book, and various smartphones, PCs …
Friends, Romans, Librarians: Lend Me Your E-books (Part 2)
Yesterday, in Part 1, Erik Christopher looked at the e-book models offered to librarians by the United States’ two largest e-book retailers, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. Today, he considers the model offered by Overdrive and the future of lending as seen by the Open Book Alliance’s Peter Brantley. By Erik Christopher Despite the user-friendly devices and what they can …