Friday, February 26, 2010
Has the popularity of e-books backfired?
E-books currently make up a small niche of the overall book market; however, as sales continue to steadily increase , big business tries to get their hands on the profits. E-books are part of a growing trend of people who have less time to spend on traditional pursuits (like reading a paperback or hardcover book). If they happen to have a few minutes to spare, e-book readers allow them to easily carry several reading choices with them with minimal hassle. However, both e-book and traditional book customers found themselves unwillingly caught in the pricing dispute explained in the title link. Because the publisher and the distributor could not agree on price and profit share, many customers found themselves unable to purchase some of their favourite books in any format. I find it quite ironic that something which is supposed to encourage reading (e-books) led to people being unable to purchase their desired reading material at all.
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I agree with the fact that overall e-books are very convenient and are becoming increasingly popular. It is also correct to say that the popularity has backfired; not only will it be harder for customers to purchase books because of the price dispute with distributors, it will end up not being beneficial to anyone. If publishers and distributers try to raise the prices of e-books due to popularity so they can increase profits, the results will resemble what happened in the music industry with downloading music. People will not want to spend money on something that they can easily go online and get for free. In the end the publishers will make less profit because people will BUY less e-books, and less traditional books for that matter because all the material will be free somewhere online to illegally download.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of e-books is great, the ability to bring your whole book collection with you anywhere and always have it with you, but the negative effects of this product might out weigh the positive.
I do believe the popularity of eBooks has backfired. As eBooks have provided individuals with the convenience to read their favourite book anywhere; eBooks must be copied again, as where printed copies remain readable for many years. EBooks do not provide the readers with all their favourite books, and the costs far exceed that of even a single book. I find that the idea of eBooks will bring people to turn to internet to download their desired reading material.
ReplyDeleteIn all honesty, I find that I have never even once read or had any interest in reading an e-book. I could see that rising prices would deter people from wanting to purchase the product at hand but, let's think about the production gone into the specific work itself, you have artists who produce e-books and music who have to make money too not to mention the increasing amounts of employees to manage the increased amount of software uploadins and downloads as well as increased overall cost. When it comes down to it I think that it's really the classic example of supply and demand, it's natural. Besides, it's cheaper than a book anyways.
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