October 24th, 2007
Coming Soon: A Winner!
The Times and if:book are reporting that, starting very soon, people are going to be able to download the full text of Booker-prize nominees from the internets to allow the texts to reach every possible audience.
The downloads will not impact on sales, it is thought. If readers like a novel tasted on the internet, they may just be inspired to buy the actual book.
What a novel concept, the thought that if people like something they might actually buy it. Wait a minute!
Hearing about the initiative from The Times yesterday, Robin Robertson, deputy publishing director of Jonathan Cape, likened it to Radiohead’s experiment this month in which the new album, Rainbows (sic), became downloadable on an “honesty box” basis. An internet survey of 3,000 people who downloaded the album found that most paid an average of £4, although others claiming to have paid more than £40.
Let’s not question the Times’ research here – many people did pay £40, rather than “claiming” to have paid such, as the boxed set was that much blah blah, but this is interesting. Might we finally be heading towards my oft-thought goal of having a free downloadable copy of a text available to everyone who buys a copy of a print novel? It’s certainly a step in the right direction. Also – and this is a question for another day – why shouldn’t we be allowed to ‘sample’ books? I think if the publishing industry legitimising downloading texts in a way that the music/film industry hasn’t – that is, free, on a trust basis – we might get somewhere. It would certainly be an interesting experiment.
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IN other news, I haven’t posted as I’m a couple of weeks (!) away from finishing my PhD. You’ll have to excuse me for a little bit longer.