DRM has become a very hot topic of late, primarily because both authors and readers are realizing that the negatives and downside of DRM coded into an eBook can far outweigh the benefits and positives to both authors and readers. While the idea of DRM is good at the outset, to protect authors from piracy, in practice you could say “the cure is worse than the disease.” DRM is proprietary at Amazon as well as at Apple, Barnes & Noble, and so on. They engineer their DRM code to keep people in their ecosystems, and they believe that will increase their profits in the long term. As a result eBooks with a proprietary DRM often cannot be read on non-proprietary dedicated eBook readers or eBook apps. Readers get frustrated because they can’t read their Amazon book on non-Kindle devices or other reading apps. They have trouble transferring their eBooks to their own devices.

What readers want is DRM-free eBooks so they can have the freedom to read it on whatever device they have. While eBook hacks and piracy are issues of concern, the much bigger issue that destroys sales for authors is restrictive proprietary DRMs.

You can read our article on DRMs at: The Downside to Digital Rights Management