I have no trackbacks here (I know my blog template sucks. I am working on a new one).
However, there is blog post at zerobeta that talks about why prices of books (and in general arts) will face pressures to decline.
Below is an excerpt:
When certain types of art such as music and literature/books become digital, the cost to produce such a work rests mostly on the artist. In addition, the Internet has made it easier to discover new artists and for artists themselves to market their work. The result is that the economics of the publishing is dead and the economics of art takes over. To the dismay of the publisher, the economics of art is much different.
The one argument you keep hearing is, “If the artists don’t get paid, how do you expect them to produce the art?”. Art is something that is timeless and will be produced for the sake of art itself. The artist effectively bootstraps him/herself in order to produce it the same way a web publisher with an art for programming can cheaply and quickly make a website or application. Thus the supply of art is much larger than the demand will ever be. An artist just wants to be heard, not bought. Heck, some of the greatest artists that ever existed produced art in their lifetime that they unfortunately never got to “cash out” on. Art will always be mass produced by the masses who wish to express themselves artistically. People find art entertaining and are willing to pay a market price for that. When the production costs rest solely on the artist, the market should clear at a much lower price, and there is nothing to say that this price isn’t “free”.
Do read the entire post here. I find it thought provoking.
Posted in: ebooks
07:27
aaronchua
Posted in: ebooks
