Comments on: Giving it away, and the failure of copyright? http://www.teleread.org/2009/02/01/giving-it-away-and-the-failure-of-copyright/ News & views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:01:59 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Logan Kennelly http://www.teleread.org/2009/02/01/giving-it-away-and-the-failure-of-copyright/comment-page-1/#comment-1009088 Logan Kennelly Mon, 02 Feb 2009 06:54:09 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/2009/02/01/giving-it-away-and-the-failure-of-copyright/#comment-1009088 Free hardly seems like the only way to make money, and I wouldn't say copyright is a failure by any means. Common sense would say: * Free can be an excellent marketing tool. * Artists such as Nine Inch Nails have demonstrated that the situation doesn't have to be either/or. Let the customer decide how much they wish to pay, from free to infinity. (This is called "trusting your customers" and has been really out of fashion with publishers lately.) * The much-vaunted idea of the micropayment isn't dead (i.e., "cheap as free"). (Note that flat-rate all-you-can-eat systems are essentially micropayment systems for the Collectors.) Most of the profit breakdowns we see around here fall apart in the face of volume. And there likely isn't one solution. I see no reason why pricing can't change throughout the lifetime of a work. Of course, if you develop a system in which people perceive no value, then people are also likely to lose respect. A valid response in that scenario would be to drastically reduce price, but I'm not sure there are many winners in this race to zero. Free hardly seems like the only way to make money, and I wouldn’t say copyright is a failure by any means. Common sense would say:

* Free can be an excellent marketing tool.

* Artists such as Nine Inch Nails have demonstrated that the situation doesn’t have to be either/or. Let the customer decide how much they wish to pay, from free to infinity. (This is called “trusting your customers” and has been really out of fashion with publishers lately.)

* The much-vaunted idea of the micropayment isn’t dead (i.e., “cheap as free”). (Note that flat-rate all-you-can-eat systems are essentially micropayment systems for the Collectors.) Most of the profit breakdowns we see around here fall apart in the face of volume.

And there likely isn’t one solution. I see no reason why pricing can’t change throughout the lifetime of a work.

Of course, if you develop a system in which people perceive no value, then people are also likely to lose respect. A valid response in that scenario would be to drastically reduce price, but I’m not sure there are many winners in this race to zero.

]]> By: David Nygren http://www.teleread.org/2009/02/01/giving-it-away-and-the-failure-of-copyright/comment-page-1/#comment-1009058 David Nygren Mon, 02 Feb 2009 03:58:31 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/2009/02/01/giving-it-away-and-the-failure-of-copyright/#comment-1009058 Of course the mostly-free model is probably only workable for those companies and sites working on a large scale. In a world where everyone expects to get almost everything for free, how can those working on a smaller scale hope to generate a smaller revenue stream? Many people are still willing offer their work up to the world for no financial reward, but this all seems to mean that there isn't much of a chance for a "small business" in the online world unless that small business happens to be selling physical things. Of course the mostly-free model is probably only workable for those companies and sites working on a large scale. In a world where everyone expects to get almost everything for free, how can those working on a smaller scale hope to generate a smaller revenue stream? Many people are still willing offer their work up to the world for no financial reward, but this all seems to mean that there isn’t much of a chance for a “small business” in the online world unless that small business happens to be selling physical things.

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