What is DRM? DRM stands for Digital Rights Management and is a generic term used by publishers, manufacturers, etc to limit the usage of digital media or devices. In other words, it’s designed to stop ebook piracy, much the same way that protections are built into some MP3’s. Have you ever downloaded an MP3 from an online store and then, when you tried to transfer it to another device, found that you couldn’t? That’s DRM.
The problem with DRM? It doesn’t actually stop piracy, despite it’s supporters claims, and, as in the above example, it can render your content unusable at worst and hard to access at best. It also stops readers from printing the book out, can make your book cost more, and can even cause an ereader’s text to speech to be unusable on that title.
And it also makes a lot of people mad.
If you do a search for DRM on google you can get a rather quick picture that a lot of people find it annoying and even demeaning. For instance, Michael Pastore sounds off about the ebook and it’s longing for freedom, Mark Coker has done more than one post about it, including a recent one where he says:
“The biggest threat facing authors and publishers today is not piracy, it’s obscurity. Anything that makes a book less accessible and less enjoyable makes it more obscure. Piracy is an indication your content is in demand, yet it’s also an indication your content is not available, accessible or affordable to those who want it. Pirates satisfy demand not satisfied by the publisher. The best method of combat piracy is to make purchasing preferable to pirating.”
Nina Paley has gone one step further and created a set of graphics for those who want to show their non support for DRMs, including a set for authors, readers and librarians.
If you support the movement then you can get links to the graphics and read more information at ReadersBillofRights.info .
Don’t know much about DRM? Don’t just take my word for it. Do some research and see how this impacts you and your work and make an informed decision.
Amaranthine by Joleene Naylor 
Barb
/ March 21, 2011Meh, your badge is bigger than mine! But then my sidebar is slimmer… 😉
You did a better job than me, at least you explained it, instead of sending readers to Smashwords blog like I did *sigh*…
Joleene Naylor
/ March 22, 2011That’s because I cheated and double posted to the Self Published Author’s lounge with this one, too 😉
How did you get such a small badge!?!?! Though I guess it stacks okay with the dreamstime banner under it… makes it all pyramid shaped, LOL!
Barb
/ March 22, 2011I reduced the image, or it didn’t fit my sidebar… so 100pixels instead of the original 300! 😉
Joleene Naylor
/ March 22, 2011aha! sneaky! And here I thought you’d found a tiny one 😉
Alannah Murphy
/ March 21, 2011I’ve heard of DRM but did not realise the impact it had, so thanks for the heads up!
Joleene Naylor
/ March 22, 2011I’ve never run into it on any ebooks yet (I usually buy from smashwords for a host of other reasons) but i have on MP3’s and it is a pain in the butt!
Artswebshow
/ March 21, 2011Yes, its annoying.
I had about 30 albums on my media player on my old computer and couldn’t transfer them.
boo hoo hoo
Joleene Naylor
/ March 22, 2011Yep! same here! i ended up having to rebuy stuff and that’s when I said “never again!” and switched to Amazon MP3! 😉
libya
/ March 23, 2011Wow! Thank you! I constantly needed to write on my website something like that. Can I take a fragment of your post to my blog?
Joleene Naylor
/ March 24, 2011sure!
Ruth Ann Nordin
/ March 23, 2011DRM Free! Sadly, I accepted DRM on two Amazon books before I understand what DRM meant. lol
Joleene Naylor
/ March 24, 2011I knew it was a pain in the butt from all the CD’s/MP3s, LOL! I’ve been cursing it for some time now 😉
thejissilly
/ March 28, 2011Holy Smokes! A worthy cause. I have never pirated an ebook, but I dont think that means DMR is working.
Joleene Naylor
/ March 29, 2011It is a worthy cause!
daftar iklan
/ April 14, 2011Very interesting entry, I look forward to the next! Thx for share