Print is Dead: Books in Our Digital Age

Interesting story today from The New York Times which talks about how record labels are beginning to be open to the idea of easing DRM restrictions on downloadable music.

The article cites slowing sales growth as one of the primary examples for the potential shift in thinking, as well as consumer complaints about format confusion and restrictions.

The implications for trade publishers and the “print is dead” debate are large; if major record labels decide to offer DRM-less music, it would put pressure on book publishers to do the same. And this kind of transparency of content, in terms of the ability to truly share and sample content, could be a real boon to digital reading and electronic text. Speaking of, when I was reading the story online, there was an ad on the page for the Sony eBook device.

From the story: “As even digital music revenue growth falters because of rampant file-sharing by consumers, the major record labels are moving closer to releasing music on the Internet with no copying restrictions — a step they once vowed never to take.”

Record Labels Contemplate Unrestricted Digital Music