RodeWorks

Here is another example of not giving your fans what they want, for fear of piracy. And that having the opposite effect of encouraging piracy among many loyal fans who would be quite willing to pay. J.K. Rowling has declined interest in releasing digital versions of the Potter books. But despite that, multiple digital versions of the latest Potter epic were available on line as little as 11 hours after its release, and an unauthorized audio version may also be coming:

“The best DRM is reasonable prices,” he added. “At $10 or $5 for a legit copy, piracy wouldn’t be as tempting. (But publishers) won’t even spend a few extra bucks to see what digital magic Potter can do for their bottom lines.”

Wired News: Pirates of the Potter-ian

The author of Dark Net, JD Lasica has a great interview on IT Conversations which discusses exactly this type of phenomenon. Content producers need to get on board and really understand what is happening. Their attempts to deny the new reality are just encouraging exactly the type of behavior they are trying to prevent. Yes, content creators should have their rights protected, and earn fair compensation for their work. But the content purchasers have rights too.