(Peter Glassman, owner of Books of Wonder in New York City, encourages publishers to bundle e-books and books together and predicts that the "app-book" will overwhelm e-books; from here)
I'm curious about when publishers are going to wake up and recognize what film studios realized a couple of years ago--the power of bundling physical product with a digital version. If movies can be sold on DVD with a digital download for a few extra dollars, why can't books? Seems to me that way book lovers could have their cake and eat it, too! And it would give bricks-and-mortar stores something to put on their shelves.
As for apps, I think we've barely seen the tip of that iceberg. The "app-book" (as I call it) is going to steamroller right over e-books as more and more developers realize what they can do and how they can transform the experience of reading into an event that takes full advantage of the digital platform. Of course, heaven help us if publishers think they're going to rule this world. The amount lost on CD-ROM will be nothing compared to that! The smart publishers will be looking for brilliant app developers to buy the sub-rights to their books and make the most of it rather than trying to create an industry from scratch. As Hollywood discovered long ago, collecting fees to let others create new products from yours is a sure fire way to add to the bottom line.
What do you think?
Scripture of the Day: Isaiah 58:11
I would LOVE bundled books. The one thing that has kept me from the e-books is the thought of empty book shelves. I can't give up my paper books and I am too cheap to buy two copies :)
ReplyDeleteI think it sounds like a wonderful idea.
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