Should ebooks Be DRM Protected? HELL YES!

David Pogue of the New York Times asks, "Should eBooks Be Copy Protected?"

The answer is heck yeah!

Pogue comments that "the music companies are still in business." Um, okay, but their revenue has fallen by half and physical music retail has all but disappeared. At least musicians have a lucrative alternative -- people will pay to see them perform live. Who would pay a worthwhile sum to listen to an author read an entire book out loud?

Convenience and price trump quality. While the paper book presents information better, the ebook is cheaper and "good enough", with enough advantages in portability that it will eventually become the dominant form, just like the mp3.

Ebook readers will fall in price and paper will become the premium form of the book. People will only pay for paper if they need paper, e.g. a paper book on bike repair in the garage, a copy of a photo-heavy history book on the coffee table, a copy of a law book to help sketch out a contract on paper, or as a gift. 

The reason books haven't been Napsterized is that it's much more time consuming to scan a book than to rip a CD or DVD. Sure, you can build and operate your own book scanner for under $300, but few people will take the time. The problem is that, just like a CD, once the book is scanned or DRM-cracked once, it's potentially free forever, especially in tightly knit, niche communities.

As paper retail begins its inevitable slide, indies will disappear. Distributors will claw to claim what little shelf space is left at Barnes & Noble. The returns system will remain as long as Barnes & Noble stays in business. Publishers will distribute ebooks and POD paper books direct to consumer.

The trouble is timing. Should publishers shoot for first-mover advantage? Should we treat ebooks as seriously as abook sales warrant?

And pricing... Should we temporarily set extremely low prices to scare off the competition? Should we adopt the $10 price point and then make sure costs are aligned to support this new rate (until Amazon renegotiates)? Is there any profit left in producing quality print books if the market becomes dominated by ebooks?

The future of book publishing = DRM + fair pricing + easy access (i.e. a good online store with many titles). 

Relatedly, the NYTimes explores the economics of ebooks.