Marie was going through email and found this from another lister on another list. Enjoy. Bill
Publishers releasing Audio Books in MP3 Format > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Reginald George > To: Adaptive technology information and support. ; > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2008 1:24 AM > Subject: Fw: Publishers releasing Audio Books in MP3 Format > > >>From the New York Times. This is a biggy deal so I thought you all would >>want to read it. > > Publishers Phase Out Piracy Protection on Audio Books > By BRAD STONE > Published: March 3, 2008 > SAN FRANCISCO - Some of the largest book publishers in the world are > stripping away the anticopying software on digital downloads of audio > books. > > The trend will allow consumers who download audio books to freely transfer > these digital files between devices like their computers, iPods and > cellphones - and conceivably share them with others. Dropping copying > restrictions could also allow a variety of online retailers to start to > sell audio book downloads. > > The publishers hope this openness could spark renewed growth in the audio > book business, which generated $923 million in sales last year, according > to the Audio Publishers Association. > > Random House was the first to announce it was backing away from D.R.M., or > digital rights management software, the protective wrapping placed around > digital files to make them difficult to copy. In a letter sent to its > industry partners last month, Random House, the world's largest publisher, > announced it would offer all of its audio books as unprotected MP3 files > beginning this month, unless retail partners or authors specified > otherwise. > > Penguin Group, the second-largest publisher in the United States behind > Random House, now appears set to follow suit. Dick Heffernan, publisher of > Penguin Audio, said the company would make all of its audio book titles > available for download in the MP3 format on eMusic, the Web's > second-largest digital music service after iTunes. > > Penguin was initially going to join the eMusic service last fall, when it > introduced its audio books download store. But it backed off when > executives at Pearson, the London-based media company that owns Penguin, > became concerned that such a move could fuel piracy. > > Mr. Heffernan said the company changed its mind partly after watching the > major music labels, like Warner Brothers and Sony BMG, abandon D.R.M. on > the digital music they sell on Amazon.com. "I'm looking at this as a > test," he said. "But I do believe the audio book market without D.R.M. is > going to be the future." > > Other major book publishers seem to agree. Chris Lynch, executive vice > president and publisher of Simon & Schuster Audio, said the company would > make 150 titles available for download in an unprotected digital format in > "the next couple of months." > > An executive at HarperCollins said the publisher was watching these > developments closely but was not yet ready to end D.R.M. > > If the major book publishers follow music labels in abandoning copyright > protections, it could alter the balance of power in the rapidly growing > world of digital media downloads. Currently there is only one significant > provider of digital audio books: Audible, a company in Seattle that was > bought by Amazon for $300 million in January. Audible provides Apple with > the audio books on the iTunes store. > > Apple's popular iPod plays only audio books that are in Audible's format > or unprotected formats like MP3. Book publishers do not want to make the > same error originally made by the music labels and limit consumers to a > single online store to buy digital files that will play on the iPod. Doing > so would give that single store owner - Apple - too much influence. > > Turning to the unprotected MP3 format, says Madeline McIntosh, a senior > vice president at the Random House Audio Group, will enable a number of > online retailers to begin selling audio books that will work on all > digital devices. > > Some bookstores are already showing interest. The Borders Group, based in > Ann Arbor, Mich., introduced an online audio book store in November using > D.R.M. provided by Microsoft. Its books cannot be played on the iPod, a > distinction that turns off many customers. But Pam Promer, audio book > buyer for Borders, said the company welcomed moves by the publishers and > planned to begin selling MP3 downloads by early spring. > > A spokesman for Barnes & Noble said the retailer had "no plans to enter > the audio book market at this time." > > Publishers, like the music labels and movie studios, stuck to D.R.M. out > of fear that pirated copies would diminish revenue. Random House tested > the justification for this fear when it introduced the D.R.M.-less concept > with eMusic last fall. It encoded those audio books with a digital > watermark and monitored online file sharing networks, only to find that > pirated copies of its audio books had been made from physical CDs or > D.R.M.-encoded digital downloads whose anticopying protections were > overridden. > > "Our feeling is that D.R.M. is not actually doing anything to prevent > piracy," said Ms. McIntosh of Random House Audio. > > Amazon and Audible would not comment on whether they would preserve D.R.M. > protections on their own audio books, citing Securities and Exchange > Commission restrictions surrounding the recent acquisition. > __________________________________ Visit the JAWS Users List home page at: http://www.jaws-users.com Address for the list archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/blind-computing@jaws-users.com/ To post to this group, send email to blind-computing@jaws-users.com To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help from Mailman with your account Put the word help in the subject or body of a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Use the following form in order to contact the management team http://www.jaws-users.com/BlindComputing.php If you wish to join the JAWS Users List send a blank email to the following address: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
