Fritz Foy -- Tor/Forge goes DRM-free
Fritz Foy -- Tor/Forge goes DRM-free
When Macmillan announced in late April that they would be the first Big Six house to routinely deliver a large portion of their ebook output -- all the titles published by Tom Doherty's imprint, which includes Tor.com -- as DRM-free ebooks, the news lit up Twitter feeds and thrilled the publishing digerati. It came on the heels of Pottermore, but actually reflects internal thinking and preparation at Macmillan going back four years or more. As Fritz Foy, Macmillan's EVP of Digital Publishing and leading technology strategist, will explain in a conversation with Mike Shatzkin, the company considered the needs of three sets of constituents: the readers who buy the ebooks, the authors who write them, and their internal editing and publishing teams that communicate with the author and agent communities. Foy will discuss the lengthy consideration the senior management of Macmillan gave to this bold step, explain why they took it, and help us all think through what the benefits and consequences might be to their business.
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Fritz Foy -- Tor/Forge goes DRM-free
- 1. BEA – Publishers Launch Tor / Forge Books – DRM Free June 4, 2012
- 2. • All eBooks DRM free – no watermarking • Launch date: July 22 • 2,200 titles (and counting!) • Available on Nook, Kindle, iBookstore, Kobo, Google Play and many other vendors 2
- 3. • Announced: February 2008 • Launched: Moon Landing Day 2008 3
- 4. • Brandon Sanderson • Kate Elliot • John Scalzi • Peter Watts • Robert Charles Wilson • C.T. Adams • Jo Walton • Daniel Abraham • Mercedes Lackey • John Wright • Tobias Buckell • Kage Baker • David Drake • Patti O'Shea • Jane Lindskold • Jeffrey A. Carver • Harry Turtledove • L.E. Modesitt, Jr. • S.C. Butler • Tobsha Learner • Karl Schroeder • Peter David • Cherie Priest • Cyril Pedrosa 1.2 Million eBooks! 4
- 5. What we learned • DRM does not prevent piracy on its own; whether your books are DRM free or not, you still need a strong enforcement program • DRM does not allow for the optimum consumer experience • DRM does not enable us to best serve our authors and their readers • DRM does not encourage a healthy and competitive retail environment 5
- 6. Cory Doctorow • Co-editor of Boing Boing • Columnist for the Guardian, Publishers Weekly, and Locus • “Doctorow is indispensable.” --Booklist • Bestselling author of many titles, including: – Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom – Little Brother – Makers – For the Win 6
- 7. Charlie Stross • Notable blogger at www.antipope.org/charlie/ • “The science fiction world has a lot of people doing seriously imaginative thinking … I mean, Charlie Stross, of course, more than basically almost anybody on the planet.” (—Paul Krugman) • Bestselling author of many titles, including: – Accelerando – The Family Trade – Halting State – Rule 34 7
- 8. John Scalzi • Notable (and prolific) blogger at whatever.scalzi.com • President of the Science Fiction Writers of America • “If anyone stands at the core of the American science fiction tradition at the moment, it is Scalzi.” –The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction • Bestselling author of many titles, including: – Old Man’s War – The Last Colony – Fuzzy Nation – Redshirts 8
- 9. And what happened to those 24 DRM-free eBooks? Unit sales of Tor.com backlist selection – all editions 180,000 160,000 140,000 120,000 100,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 YTD 9
- 10. Tor.com Store Coming later this year 10