Will ebook piracy hurt authors?

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In the wake of music piracy, authors fear that ebooks will be next.

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Agree

Experts In Music

Steven Poole Writer and Musician

Agree

The proportion of people who left a tip after downloading Trigger Happy was 1 in 1,750, or 0.057%. I am of course very grateful to each of them, though I was particularly amused by several who left $0.01, which seems a lot of clicks to expend when you could just write “F*** you” in the comments. Clearly this is not any kind of business plan. Still, some people insist that all creative work ought to be given away like this.

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18 Apr 2008 Source

Disagree

Experts In Business

Tim O'Reilly CEO

Disagree

For all of these creative artists, most laboring in obscurity, being well-enough known to be pirated would be a crowning achievement. Piracy is a kind of progressive taxation, which may shave a few percentage points off the sales of well-known artists (and I say "may" because even that point is not proven), in exchange for massive benefits to the far greater number for whom exposure may lead to increased revenues.

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11 Dec 2002 Source

Experts In Computers

Adam Engst Author & Blogger

Mostly Disagree

I've proved over four years that ebook piracy is not a fact of Internet nature, and I'd argue that it's something that all authors could both control and profit from. The trick, as always, is to watch how the recording industry behaves and do the opposite. Bring on the iTunes Store for ebooks, Apple, and make the Kindle better, Amazon!

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05 Jun 2008 Source

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Kath gave their takeonit on 08 Jul 2009

Agree

Ebook piracy definitely hurts authors, and I completely disagree with it being a "crowning jewel of accomplishment" to be pirated from. It's no more complimentary than someone breaking into your house and stealing your TV.

I am an author being directly affected by this issue. Piracy has nothing to do with reaching a broader audience, or building a following, since the ebooks are already available online for a global market. This is about people wanting something for free, and going to extreme lengths to get it without paying. Then, not merely satisfied that they got it and read it for free, they put it up on a site to give away to others. It is stealing, plain and simple. And, yes, it definitely hurts authors financially.

You take an ebook author who makes $300.00 the first month for a book's release, and then the book makes it up on 3 torrent sites within a few weeks of that release - the next month's royalties arrive and are less than $25.00. People who steal the books clearly do not go back and buy what they have taken. So the tip theory is not something you can hold to. However, it does sometimes mean that at the next new release from that author, you'll see that person's books on a torrent site being asked for much faster. How is this helpful to an author? Plain and simple: it isn't.

Will ebook piracy hurt authors?

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