Book Publishers Making the Same Mistakes as Record Labels? 227
Techdirt points out an interesting query in Slate asking why book publishers appear to be making the same mistake that record labels did with the iTunes service with DRM, and single-vendor lock-in. "Back in 2005, we noted that Apple's dominance over the online music space, which upset the record labels tremendously, was actually the record labels' own fault for demanding DRM. That single demand created massive lock-in and network effects that allowed Apple to completely dominate the market. If the record labels had, instead, pushed for an open solution, then anyone else could have built stores/players to work as well, and it could have minimized Apple's ability to control the market. Yes, everyone is now opening up (including Apple), but it took a long time, and Apple had already established its dominant position. So why are book publishers doing the same thing?"
Luckily for the book publishers (Score:2, Funny)
nobody reads anymore. In fact, I'm notrqwh even lookitnag at whwat I'at typing right nwo.
Ebooks are for chumps. (Score:5, Funny)
The "Guide" on the other hand...
Book publishers need catchy hit singles (Score:3, Funny)
People don't have the attention spans for a full exploration of a theme across an entire novel.
They want one or two really catchy pages at a low price. Something you can dance to.
Re:Those ignorant of history are doomed to repeat (Score:5, Funny)
They don't have to, they hire people to do it for them.
Re:Those ignorant of history are doomed to repeat (Score:5, Funny)
They don't have to, they hire people to do it for them.
Well now that the Kindle 2 [slashdot.org] has free TTS they don't need keep hiring those people.
Re:Same S***, Different Pile (Score:3, Funny)
Yeah! No longer will the antiques market be dominated by people with a bunch of old junk in their house. We'll be able to make brand new antiques at the click of a button!