Entries tagged with “free economy” from Tools of Change for Publishing
Artist Brand Building: An Idea Born from Free Debate's Middle Ground
Mac Slocum
July 10, 2008
| Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
Listen 
Andrew Keen, author of The Cult of the Amateur and a critic of free models, says publishers can carve a niche by helping writers build their personal brands. From The Bookseller:
Keen said that publishers should not be seduced by the new technologies but use them to build brands, and nurture the expert through live events. "The future is the expert," he said. It was no longer about the copy, the selling of the book, Keen said, but about managing the talent. Addressing publishers, he said, "you are the nurturers of talent, and you will have to convince the creatives that you can build their brand."
Free model advocate Mike Masnick has been pushing a similar "big business as brand builder" option for record companies:
Some musicians can try to go it alone, but for many it doesn't make sense. These new business models still require plenty of business smarts and the ability to do marketing -- and that will require experts in those areas. It's just that the expertise needs to be in applying those skills to the new business models (using the content as promotional material and selling scarce goods), rather than the old model.
I find it interesting that the diametrically opposed Keen and Masnick and both discussing similar solutions for traditional content companies. Perhaps the middle ground of the free debate is where the fertile ideas lie.
Will Magazines Go Free?
Peter Brantley
June 30, 2008
| Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
Listen
Jennifer Armor, audit manager at Verified Audit Circulation, makes the case for free magazines. From Folio:
Because of the increasing price of paper and postage, Armour said, the cost of acquiring and keeping paid circ is becoming too high compared to the revenue it generates, and therefore, consumer publications will eventually move to a controlled circ model. Only magazines with premium content that can't be found elsewhere will be able charge their readers.
Essential Points in the Free Debate
Mac Slocum
June 2, 2008
| Permalink
| Comments (2)
|
Listen
Expanding on "free"-centric discussions from Steven Poole and David Pogue, TechDirt's Mike Masnick argues that free experiments are only valuable if they're backed up by business models:
The basic problem is this: they hear about the importance of "free" and so they give something away for free. But they don't have a business model around the free content. They don't understand the economic forces at work. They just give stuff away and pray ... and then whine when nothing happens. As we've pointed out before, no one says that "free" by itself pays the bills. You need to have a more complete strategy than that -- and it involves a lot more than "give it away and pray."
Poole, Pogue and Masnick all support their cases (whether you agree or disagree likely depends on your overall take on free), but what I find interesting about some of these recent pieces is the tonal shift: there's an edge to them, and I'm not entirely sure where it comes from. It could be the alternative nature of free (giving stuff away is anathema to some), or maybe it springs from the odd mixture of frustration and opportunity that's swirling around the broader transition to digital. It could also emanate from ancillary topics like piracy and fading industries.
The problem with edgy discussions is that the edge generally overwhelms the core topic. And when you're dealing with an already ambiguous concept -- such as free -- distraction is even more disconcerting.
That said, there are a number of salient points within these recent posts, and each deserves to be called out:
- Free needs to be judged contextually. As Tim O'Reilly wrote in the past, free is more complicated than it initially seems, so it must to be examined amidst the goals of a particular company.
- A single experiment -- whether successful or not -- does not signify a trend. A variety of experiments need to be conducted to get a true handle on free's utility.
- Free requires an outcome. As Masnick notes, and as we've discussed here, an experiment without a strategy won't yield anything useful. Free needs to be part of a broader plan, and that plan should be thought out before giveaways begin.
- Free is one of many potential adaptations. As digital industries mature and revenue streams become more fruitful, additional models will likely form. These models deserve the same level of inquiry. Companies might find that an aggregate approach yields the best results.
- Finally ... free isn't fully formed. All viewpoints and trial runs deserve at least a passing glance.
"Dilbert" Embraces User-Generated Content
Peter Brantley
April 23, 2008
| Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
Listen
"Dilbert" creator Scott Adams and his distributor, United Media, are supporting user-generated content through Dilbert.com. Visitors can rewrite captions and redistribute the results, and the full "Dilbert" archive will eventually be available for free. From Webware:
I asked Adams why he and United Media are opening up the Dilbert intellectual property like this, and he sent me a response by email: "We're accepting the realities of IP on the Internet, and trying to get ahead of the curve. People already alter Dilbert strips and distribute them. If we make it easy and legal to do so, and drive more traffic to Dilbert.com in the process, everyone wins. Plus it's a lot of fun to see what people come up with in the mashups.""
Industry Questions Raised by "Potter" Encyclopedia Suit
Mac Slocum
April 16, 2008
| Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
Listen
Updated 4/17/08
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling testified earlier this week against a publisher that wants to release the unofficial Harry Potter Lexicon, a print adaptation of Steven Vander Ark's popular Potter encyclopedia site.
From the New York Times:
... Ms. Rowling said the proposed Lexicon book flouted her plans to write her own encyclopedia and donate the proceeds to charity. She argues that Mr. Vander Ark’s book could deter fans from buying hers.
The article says the legality of the Lexicon hinges on the originality of the title, but this suit also raises broader theoretical questions that plug into many of the free/open shifts we've recently covered.
For example, if the Lexicon is successfully released and Rowling follows through with her own encyclopedia, will Rowling's concern come true? Will her edition falter because the Lexicon has already claimed the market? Or, will awareness and publicity raised by the Lexicon boost Rowling's title? Going a step further, does Rowling even need awareness at this point? (Probably not ...)
The release of both encyclopedias would also provide a real-world test of official vs. unofficial value. Does an "unofficial" encyclopedia -- even a thorough one -- trump an "official" edition? Or, would Rowling's brand and resources marginalize the unofficial title?
Finally, is there an opportunity in the middle ground (and is there a roadmap for other publishers)? The article notes that Rowling and her publisher have been open to Potter fan sites, but what if that openness extended to a formal path for fan-created Potter material? This could take the form of small print runs for "good bet" titles like Van Ark's Lexicon, and print-on-demand services for marginal/niche topics.
Update (4/17/08): Judge Robert P. Patterson says this disagreement could be solved with creativity. From Publishers Weekly:
Patterson reiterated that he felt this was a case that “could be settled and should be settled,” and that it would only take “a little imagination” to make that happen.
Free Doesn't Work for Every Company
Peter Brantley
April 10, 2008
| Permalink
| Comments (1)
|
Listen
Hank Williams of Why Does Everything Suck? does an informal economic critique of Chris Anderson's "things tend to free" hypothesis:
"Some of you will argue that Google does fine based purely on advertising. But just because one company can commoditize everyone else's work and make pennies on things that used to generate dollars, is that sustainable across the whole economy? Or would we really be reducing the overall amount of money flowing into the digital market and therefore to the overall labor force?"
Williams continues ...
"I do believe we are in an era of artificial digital abundance in large part driven by over zealous VCs and companies like Google that are supporting money losing services with their massively profitable search engine. But this cannot continue indefinitely. Google cannot do the best job of making every category of everything. Scarcity of important useful products will indeed return. These products will be designed by companies that do not want to lose money and don’t have a search engine to subsidize money-losing efforts. Therefore they will have to be supported by direct (i.e. non-advertising) revenue streams."
How Do Publishers and Authors Get Paid in a "Free" World?
Mac Slocum
April 8, 2008
| Permalink
| Comments (2)
|
Listen
Author Tracy Chevalier's recent comments capture the mixture of fear and opportunity hovering over the book world.
From Times Online:
Ms Chevalier told The Times that the century-old model by which authors are paid -- a mixture of cash advances and royalties -- was finished. "It is a dam that’s cracking," she said. "We are trying to plug the holes with legislation and litigation but we need to think radically. We have to evolve and create a very different pay system, possibly by making the content available free to all and finding a way to get paid separately." (Emphasis added.)
Chevalier touches on the essence of the "free" issue: How do authors and publishers survive when their work is given away (or taken)? Or, more bluntly, how does anyone get paid?
The best answers I've found are in Kevin Kelly's essay "Better than Free." Kelly discusses eight generatives that inspire consumers to pay for material or services they could otherwise get for free. The essay takes a broad view, but each of Kelly's generatives has a connection to the book publishing industry.
Immediacy: If an author or publisher has a loyal audience, readers will pay for early access to upcoming books, chapters and ideas. Moreover, Kelly says publishers have already tackled immediacy with hardcover editions: "Hardcover books command a premium for their immediacy, disguised as a harder cover."
Personalization: A free generic book might serve the majority of a readership, but there's a small percentage who want the benefits of customization, both in physical qualities (binding, paper stock, fonts) and content (editions, additional chapters, related material). Kelly's suggestion: "The free copy of a book can be custom edited by the publishers to reflect your own previous reading background."
Interpretation: Customers will pay for guidance, meaning and, if they're in a rush, shortcuts. In this generative, authors could also expand and customize ideas on a consultant basis.
Authenticity: Knock-offs and pirated copies have opened the door for "book insurance." A customer searching for a definitive, authentic copy will pay for peace of mind.
Accessibility: The idea of physical ownership isn't likely to fade -- we all love our stuff -- but a fee-based digital archive offers a variety of benefits: shelf space can be reserved for the most used/needed/loved books; material can be accessed anywhere; and if disaster strikes, a library can be re-created.
Embodiment: There's value in sensory experiences, particularly those that can't be copied or contained in a digital environment. "PDFs are fine," Kelly notes, "but sometimes it is delicious to have the same words printed on bright white cottony paper, bound in leather." The experience of author readings, speeches and events can also demand a premium. Serving coffee doesn't hurt, either.
Patronage: A small subset of readers will "tip" authors if the process is simple and there's a guarantee the writer will receive those funds. Authors shouldn't rely on goodwill as a primary revenue stream -- unless there's a lot of goodwill -- but it's certainly a possibility.
Findability: Author Leander Kahney and his publisher, Bill Pollock of No Starch Press, recently posted to BitTorrent free digital copies of Kahney's books, The Cult of Mac and The Cult of iPod. Pollock summed up the move on his blog: "I think there’s something to this and logic tells me that if we increase the visibility of our titles, we'll sell more books."
This is just the beginning of a much larger conversation, so please share your ideas in the comments area. Do you see opportunity in a free system?
(Via TechCrunch and Peter Brantley's read20 listserv.)
BitTorrent as a Book Publicity Tool
Mac Slocum
March 21, 2008
| Permalink
| Comments (6)
|
Listen
Free copies of The Cult of Mac and The Cult of iPod are available for download through the popular BitTorrent tracker, The Pirate Bay. Finding book downloads on BitTorrent isn't unusual, but this situation differs because the books were posted by the author and publisher.
Leander Kahney, author of both books, explains the move on his blog:
We came up with the idea after reading about the amazing success to bestselling author Paulo Coelho, who seeds his own books to file-sharing networks and then promotes them on his blog. Coelho claims great success with “pirating” his own books, saying it has had a slow but dramatic effect on sales.
Bill Pollock of No Starch Press, publisher of both Cult books, is taking a waiting-and-watching approach to the free dowloads:
I’ve been in publishing for just over 20 years and my training has not been to give books away. But I think there’s something to this and logic tells me that if we increase the visibility of our titles, we’ll sell more books.
The definitive connection between downloads and sales is hard to pin down, but O'Reilly's 2007 case study concluded that free digital copies do not harm book sales.
(Via TorrentFreak)
Are You Ready for Free?
Mac Slocum
March 19, 2008
| Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
Listen
A recent post on ReadWriteWeb looks at the relationship between traditional publishing (newspapers, magazines, books) and teen readership. The results are hazy at best -- experts can't seem to get past the "digital reading" vs. "print reading" debate -- but a short passage in the article's magazine section touched on a topic that's popping up all over the place: the power of free content.
"MediaTel managing director Derek Jones said the [magazine] industry must find new ways of engaging with the teen market which has suffered a steady decline in sales. The problem, according to ShortList chief executive Mike Soutar, is that the younger generation like to consume media for free and they have come to expect free content through online extensions." [emphasis added]
The expectation of free isn't just the domain of teens; Web consumers from all generations are used to getting their information for free as well. This is a powerful trend that's gaining steam.
If you're intrigued by free models (or concerned), take a look at Kevin Kelly's essay "Better Than Free," Chris Anderson's article "Free! Why $0.00 Is the Future of Business," and coverage of Tim O'Reilly's TOC '08 keynote "Free is More Complicated Than You Think."
Roundup: Jeff Bezos and Chris Anderson at BEA, the Value of Evergreen Content, Bonus Features and Ebooks
Mac Slocum
March 13, 2008
| Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
Listen
Jeff Bezos and Chris Anderson at BookExpo America
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos will be interviewed by Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired, at BookExpo America on Friday, May 30. Bezos and Anderson are both at the forefront of business/technological change: Bezos with Amazon's Kindle and Anderson with his focus on free economic models. (What's the over/under on Anderson asking about free Kindles?)
Sourcebooks: Evergreen Holds the Bottom Line
Dominique Raccah, founder of Sourcebooks Inc., has built her business by ignoring fads: "... we elected at the outset to mainly issue books that are on the so-called backlist -- books that are not hot fad followers but are read, and re-read and referenced as evergreen classics, and can be updated with fresh information each year," Raccah tells the Naperville Sun. Sourcebooks' titles include the "Fisk Guide to Colleges," "The Complete Book of Baby Names," and the Sphinx Legal reference series.
Pride and Prejudice Ebook Includes Bonus Material
It looks like e-books are taking a note from DVD bonus features. Penguin Group's upcoming Pride and Prejudice ebook will include reviews from the novel's first run, a Jane Austen timeline, illustrations, rules of etiquette, and other add-ons.
- Stay Connected
-
TOC RSS Feeds
News Posts
Commentary Posts
Combined Feed
New to RSS?
Subscribe to the TOC newsletter. 
Follow TOC on Twitter. 
Join the TOC Facebook group. 
Join the TOC LinkedIn group. 
Get the TOC Headline Widget.
- Search
-
