DRM For The Publishing Industry

April 10th, 2006 · No Comments
by Booksquare

Publisher’s Lunch alerts us to a new approach to galley distribution. Simon & Schuster will be experimenting with new, more communicative galleys for Stephen King’s new book. The purpose, of course, is to cut down on selling those “Not For Sale” copies.

To quote from Lunch:

Scribner’s approach is made clear as soon as you see the cover. The design does not mimic the book’s jacket, so there will be no confusing this with the book itself; instead it elegantly superimposes a letter from [Scribner publisher Susan] Moldow on top of large gray letters that read “Not For Sale.”

Basically, the galleys will state, quite clearly, what recipients of these free advance copies should (or should not) do with the product. It also puts purchasers of these galleys on notice. It really is tacky to make money off of free goods.

Will it work? It might deter some. It will at least raise awareness. And it’s a nice analog equivalent to the DRM solution proposed for music by Medialoper:

Record companies could significantly cut their promotional costs (and the corresponding costs charged back to artists) by eliminating free product. Instead, labels should be delivering promotional music digitally. Each label could easily setup a network of servers offering promotional music to journalists, radio stations, concert promoters, and anyone else a label deems to be promo-worthy.

Furthermore, all promotional music should be protected by DRM (yes, I said DRM)! This is one of the few areas where DRM actually makes sense. Instead of using DRM to limit how consumers use content, it should be used to protect the misuse of that content when it is distributed to business associates for promotional purposes.

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File Under: The Future of Publishing