[LINK] Publishers want universal e-books; won't cooperate to get them

[Kim Holburn]

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2010/06/publishers-want-universal-e-books-cant-cooperate-to-get-them.ars

> Publishers want universal e-books; won't cooperate to get them
> By Jacqui Cheng | Last updated about 2 hours ago
>
> The industry-wide struggle over e-book formats continues, despite  
> the fact that publishers are inundated with choices over how and  
> where to distribute their e-books. In fact, such a wide selection is  
> part of the reason why publishers are up in arms over the lack of a  
> good universal option: they don't want to have to choose between  
> Amazon, Apple, and Barnes and Noble; nor do they want to spend the  
> extra time and resources trying to do all three. They want to choose  
> one format and have it be available everywhere, but the industry may  
> be standing in its own way before a widely accepted universal  
> format  becomes available.
>
> There are already several open e-book formats out there—ePub and  
> MobiPocket are just a couple. The major e-book devices even support  
> them; with a little bit of effort, you can get an ePub version of a  
> book onto your Kindle or iPad in no time. The problem is the  
> "effort" part—e-book sellers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple  
> heavily market their own stores and make it even easier for  
> customers to simply buy the proprietary formats.
>
> The downside, of course, is that customers are then locked into  
> specific formats and devices. As noted in a recent Reuters  piece, a  
> Kindle book may be readable on a Kindle app on the iPad, but it's  
> still limited to the Kindle "universe"—other devices that lack  
> Kindle apps won't be able to handle those formats, and vice versa.
>
> "Our fondest wish is that all the devices become agnostic so that  
> there isn't proprietary formats and you can read wherever you want  
> to read," Penguin Group CEO David Shanks told Reuters. "First we  
> have to get a standard that everybody embraces."
>
> Getting their collective act together
> Some believe the industry itself needs to get its act together  
> before pointing fingers at Amazon or Apple. "Indeed, there are  
> several open formats, but the problem is that they still need work,"  
> self-published author Cesar Torres told Ars. Torres believes that if  
> publishers worked together to get behind a particular open format,  
> the format would improve and device makers would be more motivated  
> to offer wider support.
>
> "The problem still lies with publishing houses and their inability  
> to talk to one another. Everyone is doing their own thing without  
> any regard for readers or customers," Torres said. "Apple and Amazon  
> would be toast if publishers really got their act together."
>
> There's another element that's holding back publishers from unifying  
> on a more widely compatible, open format. The old guard of  
> publishers is at odds with the more progressive ones over how to  
> handle e-books, adding to strife within the industry. Brooklyn-based  
> writer Edward Champion expressed frustration after attending this  
> year's BookExpo CEO panel, noting that moderator Jonathan Galassi  
> "maintained the old warhorse position that hardcovers would still be  
> desired by 100 percent of book purchasers," and that Authors Guild  
> president Scott Turow seemed to be completely oblivious to the fact  
> that customers want e-books the same day hardcover versions are  
> released.
>
> Both Champion and Torres seem to agree certain publishers are simply  
> scared of the dangers of the online world. "Most publishers don't  
> want e-books at all," Torres said. They want to keep paper around as  
> long as possible (sound familiar?) and, in lieu of that, they insist  
> on heavy DRM on their e-books as they are dragged kicking and  
> screaming into the digital  world.
>
> That stance is clear when you read Penguin Group president Susan  
> Peters Kennedy's comments to Reuters. She staunchly noted that  
> publishers aren't keen on making the same "mistakes" as the music  
> industry and falling into a battle over piracy. "It's always treated  
> as if the publishers are the Luddites. The devices have not caught  
> up with the content. Contrary to popular opinion, the book is  
> actually so far more flexible," Kennedy said.
>
> With that kind of attitude, it's no surprise that users are  
> increasingly "pirating" e-books that they already own in paper  
> format. Traditional books are indeed more flexible, but that's  
> because of the industry's own disagreement on how to handle e-books.  
> What's worse: a PDF of a book floating around on BitTorrent because  
> there are no other legal ways to acquire a digital copy, or an ePub  
> version of the same book available for purchase on the major  
> bookstores' and publishers' websites? Some cooperation from  
> publishers could go a long way, but they apparently don't yet  
> realize that.
>
-- 
Kim Holburn
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