And how much more outrageous is it to charge that much for something that doesn't have to be manufactured, warehoused, inventoried, or shipped?
I don't expect to see any such model. Publishers are used to paying 6–10% of total sale price for the intellectual property contained in a book, and if they work the way the film industry operates (writers getting 4 cents per DVD, etc.), they aren't likely to budge from that. Which means to get what seems fair to them, they need to charge a lot more than that low download price I named.
The Generational Divide in Copyright Morality
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Primula Baggins
- Living in hope
- Posts: 40005
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:43 am
- Location: Sailing the luminiferous aether
- Contact:
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
Which is why Piracy will help in the long run. It won't be much use to you for this book Prim, but maybe 10 or 15 years down the line publishers will realise that 50% of something is better than 90% of nothing. And believe me, Piracy is what will cause that to happen. It won't be some publisher on the road to Damascus.
The Vinyamars on Stage! This time at Bag End
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nerdanel
- This is Rome
- Posts: 5963
- Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2005 11:48 pm
- Location: Concrete Jungle by the Lagoon
But Al, it seems to be the clearest case ever of "two wrongs make a right." Seems to me that the industries are legally entitled to charge whatever the market can bear, and the remedy if you think that they are being unreasonable is not to pay them. This "They're charging so much, so I'll take it for free" mentality seems morally dubious at best - and more so when it's coupled with the "ends justify the means" rationale you seem to be advocating.
I'm not disagreeing that these industries are charging too much for their products in a lot of cases. But there exists legal (and moral) recourse - for instance, to "opt out" of purchasing books and borrow what you want to read exclusively from the library (an approach that I almost always follow.) Deciding that the publishing industry is charging much, so it's okay to take an e-book for free (or the ends of doing so justify the means)? That seems little more than logic of convenience. And believe me, I know firsthand that it is convenient.
I'm not disagreeing that these industries are charging too much for their products in a lot of cases. But there exists legal (and moral) recourse - for instance, to "opt out" of purchasing books and borrow what you want to read exclusively from the library (an approach that I almost always follow.) Deciding that the publishing industry is charging much, so it's okay to take an e-book for free (or the ends of doing so justify the means)? That seems little more than logic of convenience. And believe me, I know firsthand that it is convenient.
I won't just survive
Oh, you will see me thrive
Can't write my story
I'm beyond the archetype
I won't just conform
No matter how you shake my core
'Cause my roots, they run deep, oh
When, when the fire's at my feet again
And the vultures all start circling
They're whispering, "You're out of time,"
But still I rise
This is no mistake, no accident
When you think the final nail is in, think again
Don't be surprised, I will still rise
Oh, you will see me thrive
Can't write my story
I'm beyond the archetype
I won't just conform
No matter how you shake my core
'Cause my roots, they run deep, oh
When, when the fire's at my feet again
And the vultures all start circling
They're whispering, "You're out of time,"
But still I rise
This is no mistake, no accident
When you think the final nail is in, think again
Don't be surprised, I will still rise
Oh believe me, I'm not using it as an argument for, or a justification of, illegal downloads.
In most cases I justify what I download by other means. Like I explained, TV Shows and Movies I pay a premium for on Satelite, I have no problem downloading a couple of weeks early. My conscience is ok with that. Other people would feel differently.
My point is not that its ok to steal ebooks because it will force a change in the market. My point is that creating a market where it makes sense to steal ebooks is a mugs game and that it won't last long. There's a difference.
In most cases I justify what I download by other means. Like I explained, TV Shows and Movies I pay a premium for on Satelite, I have no problem downloading a couple of weeks early. My conscience is ok with that. Other people would feel differently.
My point is not that its ok to steal ebooks because it will force a change in the market. My point is that creating a market where it makes sense to steal ebooks is a mugs game and that it won't last long. There's a difference.
The Vinyamars on Stage! This time at Bag End