For an updated article on DRM, please check out Just Click No for DRM.
DRM: Yes or No?
10 thoughts on “DRM: Yes or No?”
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Celebrating Independent Authors
For an updated article on DRM, please check out Just Click No for DRM.
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Absolutely.
One has only to look at our sister industry, music, to see that removing DRM from media does not have noticeable negative impact on sales.
Indies control over 50% of the top 100 bestseller lists on Amazon across almost all genres today, for ebooks. Almost all of those books are DRM free. DRM is easy to break; and once broken and uploaded someplace by even one person, is available. DRM does nothing to stop dishonest readers. It serves only to hurt and annoy honest ones.
Even the major publishers are beginning to catch on. TOR has gone to DRM free for their ebooks. Hatchette is considering doing so as well. Removing DRM is expected to be a major topic at BEA conferences this summer.
A tool which doesn't work and upsets customers in the process is a bad tool.
Thanks for this post! I was kind of sure that I understood DRM enough not to check the box, but I didn't really get the ramifications until now. Good info.
As a publisher with more than 500 titles, I have found that titles with DRM get returned MUCH more often, and with complaints about files failing to open at all.
Interesting, Arline. As an indie author, I make it a practice to keep my books DRM-free.
Thanks for the wake-up. I really thought it was to avoid piracy – but, as you say, it doesn't. Too bad I can't change mine any more. Sigh.
You and me, both, Yvonne! This is the first really good explanation of DRM and it's pros/cons that I've seen yet. Will Tweet it.
Not even sure if I hit the Enable DRM option or not, but if I did I should have known better as I followed the whole discussion as it pertained to mp3s, etc. Anyway, if I did, I wont be doing it again.
Thank you! Forewarned is forearmed.
Thanks for the better explanation. I had checked that box for quite some time, now I don't think I am anymore- or at least won't be. I've already had one book pirated, but if DRM doesn't work, there's nothing stopping them from stealing more. Heck, I have 2 books FREE already! They can steal those all they want and it's free PR for me.
At last, an explanation of the pros and cons of DRM which makes sense. I'll know what to do when I publish my next book. So far, I've had most books with DRM and the last one without.