DRM

The International Digital Publishing Forum’s annual Digital Book conference was recently held in New York.
Publishers Weekly had a short article that discussed, amongst other things, the issue of DRM (Digital Rights Management).

...e-books are a sector that is growing steadily, experimenting and diversifying its products and practices and working to identify consumers and their e-book reading and buying habits. The most obvious themes at the afternoon session of DB 2009 were the importance of both women readers and the romance genre to digital publishing as well as the promotion of IDPF’s epub standard and the industry’s problematic response to DRM....

Long identified as voracious trade book readers, women were identified as the prototypical e-book reader, while the romance genre—with hundreds of new releases each month—is just as robust in the digital publishing sector as it is print. More than ever Digital Rights Management—and even the notion of e-book piracy—was portrayed as more of a problem to the developing e-book market than e-book piracy itself... (full article)

I have mixed feelings on DRM. I can see the point in protecting author and publishers rights over copy, and trying to prevent piracy, I really can but...

DRM gets stripped off every day by pirates and causes nothing but grief for legitimate purchasers.

DRM can mean you can't shift an eBook from one medium to another (e.g. eBookReader to PC), it can be almost impossible to re-authenticate if you need to (e.g. hard drive crash or new PC), and the authentication process can be difficult and burdensome. DRM has even been nicknamed 'Driving Readers Mad'.

Not only that but there is evidence to suggest there is a higher rate of piracy with DRM than without. Choosing to purchase a potentially difficult DRM eBook or pirate one that won't have the same problems - for some people this is a no brainer.

E-publishers need to make buying a book so easy that readers won't even think of going to the hassle of downloading it illegally, they'll just buy it.

With the increasing popularity of eBookReaders, and the introduction of new ones onto the market, DRM is an issue that needs to be looked at and considered carefully before it smothers this growing market. Being anti-DRM does not mean being pro-piracy.

For those who are interested some additional links.

• A list of non DRM publishers, including my own soon-to-be-publisher The Wild Rose Press.
• Sarah at Smart Bitches discusses (and yes occasionally rants) about DRM, she also has some interviews with the publishers themselves.
  
• Jane at Dear Author talks about why ePublishing needs to grow up.

On a lighter note, I spotted this in the news the other day...

Bra Boosts Clevage When Aroused.

Slovenia-based Lisca lingerie's Smart Memory Bra alters its shape when the wearer's body temperature changes, pushing breasts closer together when a woman gets flushed after seeing someone attractive.

Designer Suzana Gorisek said: "As a woman's body changes, so the size of the bra changes. That's the advantage of this bra." As soon as the wearer's temperature decreases the bra deflates. ...

[And even more hilarious] ...

Earlier this week, underwear firm Triumph International showed off their new bra offering, which boasted a ticking clock on the front. The bra is designed for women who are looking for a husband, and the only way to stop the clock counting down is to slip an engagement ring into the mechanism. When the jewellery is put in place, the clock halts and Felix Mendelssohn's 'The Wedding March' begins to play. The bra is yet to go on sale. ... (full article)

music: Gnarls Barkley
Currently reading: 'The Chaos Chrystal' by Jennifer Fallon
The last in her Tide Lords series. For any one who is interested this series is not romance (none of her books are) it's straight fantasy.