Illegal activity can sometimes be an excellent barometer of a society's soul.
You might, therefore, either leap dangerously close to your chandelier or bang your forehead against your winkle pickers in despair when I reveal to you the list of most pirated e-books of 2009.
I am grateful to the hardened aesthetes at Freakbits who have obtained this list from someone they met on a street corner. Wait, no. This list actually comes from BitTorrent's tally of nefarious downloads.
You will, no doubt, be expecting that the pirates of the Nook and Kindle would have reached for novels of airport quality. You know, James Patterson, Dan Brown, and the dripping anguish of Nicholas Sparks.
You will, no doubt, not have your finger on any kind of bookish Bluebeard's pulse.
Proof that this is an important tome. Even the great Deepak Chopra has a version.
(Credit: CC Dan4th/Flickr)For the No. 1 illegal download in 2009 was the "Kama Sutra." The Indian manual for so many things sexual managed to beat out another manual of fundamental interest to a pirate's survival on the tossing tempests of this world: "Adobe Photoshop Secrets."
My own feeling, from deep beneath my T-shirt, is that the "Kama Sutra" and "Adobe Photoshop Secrets" have largely been downloaded by the same people for entirely related purposes. However, I cannot prove it, so let us move seamlessly beyond the steamy and attempt to find calmer waters.
Oh, dear. At No. 3, we have "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Amazing Sex." Followed, with geometric nerdy symmetry, by "The Lost Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci." Then, perhaps suggesting an interest in a post baby-making period, we have "Solar House--A Guide for the Solar Designer."
But no sooner were the pirates leaning toward domesticity when up at No. 6 popped "Before Pornography--Erotic Writing In Early Modern England."
The complete series of "Twilight" provided respite at No. 7, before, one imagines, the searing sexual frustration of the yet to shave slammed in again at No. 8 with "How To Get Anyone To Say YES--The Science Of Influence."
At No. 9, please welcome "Nude Photography--The Art And The Craft." And rounding out the extremely rounded and optimistic persona of the illegal e-book downloader we have, at No. 10, "Fix It--How To Do All Those Little Repair Jobs Around The Home."
It is sometimes those who break the law in their youth (and I feel confident so many illegal downloaders have fresh dirt behind their ears) who do, indeed, rise up and become leaders of companies, even of nations.
So I am giddy in the knowledge that that the world may soon be run by people whose primary obsessions are sex and building things.
One big reason readers choose e-books over ink and paper versions: The digital ones are cheaper.
That wasn't the case when e-books first appeared a decade ago. But Amazon has made a point of selling its Kindle titles at a discount to physical editions, even if it means losing money.
And then there are the titles that Kindle owners really, really love--the ones they get for nothing. As the Washington Post noted earlier this week, the list of best-selling Kindle titles is dominated by free books:
Amazon's customers have made it clear that $9.99 is still too high for their taste. Most titles in the company's list of top 100 Kindle bestsellers are priced below $9.99, and the most popular price point is $0.00.
The good folks at MediaBistro have gone ahead and counted, so you don't have to. As of a day ago, 64 of Amazon's top 100 Kindle titles cost nada.
How exactly does that work? I understand why Amazon is able to hand out public domain works like "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" and "Pride and Prejudice" for free. But I'm not sure what's going on with titles like Noel Hynd's "Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker: Recipes for Entertaining" (#9). Anyone want to weigh in?
I'm also not sure what conclusions we can draw from the dominance of freebies on the Kindle charts. I'm tempted to say that Kindle buyers are rabid but indiscriminate readers, and they'll lap up whatever you put in front of them.
But without a real sense of the numbers, which Amazon is never going to cough up, it's hard to tell what the sales patterns really look like.
I suspect, for instance, that a lot of the freebies are picked up by readers in the first few weeks that they own a Kindle, when they're looking to download something simply for the sake of downloading something.
I also assume that the Kindle charts are skewed by hardcore early adopters' reading habits. And that the patterns will start changing now that more casual users are picking up the Kindle for the first time.
And in case you were wondering--because I was--says it is not counting free book downloads when it releases sales statistics like the one it put out on Saturday, when it said more customers had purchased Kindle titles than physical books on Christmas Day.
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I know that many, especially those associated with making money out of music, feel that pirates who share files should be made to walk the plank to the rhythm of Fiona Apple's "Criminal."
However, a survey commissioned by the professional cogitators at Demos in the U.K., suggests that just because one might download illegally, it doesn't mean one never spends money on music.
Indeed, according to the Independent, this survey, performed by the omeletteheads at Ipsos MORI, showed that those who share files spend 75 percent more on music than those who have allegedly clean hands.
Another omelettehead, Mark Mulligan of Forrester Research, told the Independent that those who share files are simply more interested in music.
He added: "They use file sharing as a discovery mechanism. We have a generation of young people who don't have any concept of music as a paid-for commodity."
(Credit:
CC The Impressionist.co.uk/Flickr)
But perhaps it's not quite so simple. I'm still not entirely convinced that file sharers are only those who delight in technology's ability to let them obtain product for nothing. I'm not entirely convinced that technology has made free-fighters of us all.
Wandering around Alcatraz on Saturday (how else is one supposed to celebrate Al Capone on Halloween?), I was struck by how everyone who wanted a little guide book happily volunteered to slip a dollar bill in the slot provided. People still accept the quaint idea of exchanging money for something of an appropriate value.
Isn't the real philosophical heart of file sharing the idea that real, honest people simply felt they had been gouged by the music industry for a little too long? File sharing allows them to alter the imbalance between the listener and the music producer.
It doesn't mean they will never spend money on music. They will simply spend what they feel is the right amount of money on music they think deserves it.
This survey found that 10 percent of the respondents, age range 16-50, admitted illegal downloading. But what might have been instructive would have been to learn just how much music people bought for their average of 77 pounds (around $120) per month and how they made their choice as to what should be bought and what should merely be, um, borrowed.
The music industry is adjusting because it has no choice. And its goal, long-term, may well focus on the ability to earn more from those who love music, rather than from those who are rather more indifferent.
Perhaps the most important word in that thought is "earn."
Latinas sometimes have a way of explaining to you in short, telling words just how things stand.
So it is something of a bracing breeze in the desert to hear Shakira, the rather wily Colombian singer, declare herself to be in favor of file sharing.
If you've ever seen Shakira perform, as she did very recently on "Dancing with the Stars," you'll know that she is the kind of woman who would be rather upset if she didn't make your body move and your mind slip a little from its normal axis.
So please try to keep still when I tell you that for this pulsating performer, who has sold 50 million albums worldwide, file sharing represents "a democratization of music."
According to the Daily Mail, Shakira is rather fond of the somewhat piratical idea that downloads might be illegally shared amongst her fans.
"I like what's going on because I feel closer to the fans and the people who appreciate the music," she told the Mail. "And music is a gift. That's what it should be, a gift."
Unlike singers such as Lily Allen who appears, in a philosophically similar vein to John Kerry, to have been for file sharing before she was against it, Shakira has an instinctive feel for the fact that the practice cannot be stopped.
The relentlessly positive conclusion she takes from this is that the more people hear her insistent, consistent tones, the more people are going to like them and the more people will pay substantial sums to go to her concerts. At these concerts, they will sweat to the verge of passing out, after which they will need a clean Shakira T-shirt in which to go home in.
Naturally, it is easy for Shakira to support file sharing when she is so colossally, deservedly and humongously wealthy.
However, sometimes people get wealthy by appreciating precisely the mood of the people.
And Shakira, which happens to mean "thankful" in Arabic, is a woman who seems to know just how people's minds, bodies, and pockets truly work.
Rupert Murdoch said in July he wanted to reshape MySpace into an entertainment hub, and sources say the site now plans to launch a new video service sometime in the next several months with the help of sister site Hulu, CNET News has learned.
The big question is whether MySpace's service will offer downloads or a subscription service.
Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. chairman
(Credit: Dan Farber/CNET Networks)Murdoch, the chairman of media conglomerate News Corp., intends to overhaul MySpace Video by bringing in a larger number of feature films, TV shows, and music videos. The social network's new video area will be given a major face lift, more exposure, and be re-branded so as to make it more attractive to advertisers, according to two sources with knowledge of the plans.
A MySpace spokeswoman declined to comment.
Murdoch's News Corp. owns MySpace and a large chunk of Hulu, which also boasts NBC Universal and Disney as its other stakeholders.
MySpace already streams some of Hulu's TV shows and a tiny number of full-length movies to users. But MySpace Video, as it is now, can't come close to competing with the Web's top video services, such as YouTube, Netflix's Watch Now, or Crackle.
A visit to MySpace Video on Monday evening revealed a section that provided few clues that feature films or prime-time TV shows were even offered there. Besides being buried, the content is displayed on a jumbled Web page. The links to the few long-form films and shows are mixed in with the much more plentiful short clips and trailers. To be frank, the site is a mess.
"MySpace's intention is to do a much better job of monetizing the video area," said one source.
What isn't clear is whether MySpace Video will offer downloads and subscriptions. Last week, Murdoch and and Jeff Zuker, CEO of NBC Universal, said ad-supported Hulu is considering whether to offer pay-per view and a subscription service.
Whether a new MySpace video service would also offer these isn't clear.
But it seems logical to set up a Hulu storefront at MySpace, which would enable the site's users to purchase a movie download or rent a flick without having to hop over to Hulu.
Microsoft is bringing the DVD experience to downloadable movies--at least in the U.K.
Teaming up with U.K. retail giant Tesco, Microsoft announced Wednesday a new service to offer consumers downloadable videos with the same interactivity, special features, and high quality found on physical DVDs.
Based on Microsoft's Silverlight technology, the "virtual DVD" service will start sometime this fall. It will allow Tesco customers who buy certain movies to also download digital copies of the flicks for their Windows or Mac computers. Besides providing high-quality video, the digital versions will include bonus content, related MP3 files and ringtones, and networked games. Tesco said it is working with "broad range of major movie studios" as part of the deal.
"For the first time, consumers will be able to enjoy a DVD equivalent experience with digital movies, which paves the way for more advanced viewing experiences enabled through Silverlight, Rob Salter, category director for Entertainment at Tesco, said in a statement. "In the future we expect to offer our customers innovative digital solutions that far exceed the DVD experience and deliver exclusive content, Web events, and services wherever and whenever they want them."
Tesco, a grocery chain, has taken advantage of technology to create new business ventures. The company has expanded its reach in recent years to create software and offer a Skype-like VoIP service.
Though the virtual DVD service initially will be available only in the U.K., Microsoft said it expects to branch out to additional markets.
iLike CEO Ali Partovi
(Credit: iLike)Social-networking service iLike opened a music download store on Friday, and has begun selling MP3s from all the major music labels.
On Wednesday, CNET News reported that iLike would soon open a store and offer song downloads from at least three of the major labels. The site actually is selling music from all four big record companies: Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and EMI.
The prices are comparable with those found at iTunes and Amazon. Songs range in price from 89 cents to $1.29.
Companies competing in the ad-supported music space have struggled to generate cash as advertisers are reluctant to pay them premium rates. Users aren't necessarily looking at a computer screen when listening to music and this makes it hard to market to them. Imeem, which streams music free of charge to users and supports itself through ad sales, is another service that has recently started testing a download store.
In Wednesday's story about the new store, I wrote that iLike would challenge iTunes, which is the overwhelming power in sales of music downloads, and anybody selling downloads should count Apple as a competitor. Ali Partovi, iLike's CEO disagreed and said the company will continue to offer links to iTunes for users who want to continue buying music from Apple.
"We have always linked to iTunes and will continue to do so," Partovi said. "We're not challenging iTunes, but complementing it with a faster, more immediate option that's better tuned for the impulse-buy: by allowing you to purchase in-page without leaving the Web site you were on.
"Our goal is to provide an immediate, in-page music buying experience for music fans," he continued. "Today the service is available to users in the U.S. but we also intend to roll it out across our applications and platforms over time."
Update: 6:06 p.m.: To include iLike's hopes to open a download store in the next 30 days.
Facebook's most popular music service, iLike, is in talks with the four major music labels about opening a download store, multiple sources within the music industry said Tuesday.
According to the sources, iLike is close to reaching final agreements with at least three of the top record companies. The sources did not disclose which labels are close but added that iLike is hoping to open its download store within the next month.
A spokeswoman for Seattle-based iLike said: "iLike engages in ongoing discussions with the labels about a variety of ways we might work together. While we don't discuss the specifics...I can tell you that our goal remains the same: to facilitate music discovery and consumption across the Web."
Details are few about what an iLike download store might offer, but it almost certainly would sell songs in the MP3 format. Few, if any, of the top download services offer music wrapped in digital rights management anymore.
The talks come as many of iLike's competitors are already well into offering downloads backed by full-streaming music. Imeem has launched a test version of its download store, featuring music from major label Warner Music Group and multiple indie companies this year. MySpace has offered full-streaming music and downloads from all four top record companies since September.
Up to now, iLike's full-length music offering has been light. The start-up's 50 million registered users can sample 30-second music clips, but must go to iTunes or other Web retailers to buy songs.
Sources said iLike is hopeful that it can profit from cutting out those middlemen.
Last year, iLike struck a deal to offer songs in their entirety with Rhapsody, the music service operated by RealNetworks and MTV. That deal was never popular with the labels and eventually fizzled out.
The record companies don't want music services piggybacking on each other's libraries. According to one music industry source, Rhapsody's deal with the labels didn't include offering full-length songs on iLike.
iLike isn't a company that has generated a lot of positive press lately. All Things Digital reported last year that iLike was for sale. The blog also broke the story that the Rhapsody deal had gone sour when Warner Music and Sony Music Entertainment, had pulled their music from the service.
Sony is not building a download store for the upcoming PSP Go, according to a report.
(Credit: Eurogamer.net)Could the disaster that was Sony's Connect music service have soured the international conglomerate on offering downloads at the PlayStation Network?
Rafat Ali over at the tech news blog PaidContent.org is reporting that not only has Sony scrapped plans--at least for the time being--to offer music downloads to owners of the PlayStation Portable, but the executive in charge of dealing with the labels has resigned, according to the report.
Two weeks ago, CNET News reported that Sony had talked to some of the largest recording companies about the possibility of offering music via the PlayStation Network, the online store for PlayStation, Sony's video game console, and PlayStation Portable (PSP), the multi-purpose handheld.
PaidContent's report comes on the eve of the expected debut of the new PSP Go, the latest version of the device. Sony executives were not immediately available for comment.
Music should have been one of the PSP's core offerings a long time ago. Sony is a major player in gaming and music. It's a little ironic that while Sony owns the second largest music label, the company can't offer MP3s to PSP owners.
James McQuivey, an analyst with Forrester Research, is just one of the people who has said that the PSP has failed so far to live up to its potential. The device is probably one of the best mobile video players available, with a larger screen than any of the iPods or iPhones. It provides an excellent game-playing experience. But it has been well chronicled that the machine was hobbled by Sony's decision to initially offer physical media (Universal Media Disc) rather than digital content. That appears to be changing as the PSP Go, according to reports, will not offer an UMD drive.
Sony has also been determined to keep the PSP's focus on gaming, which is understandable. But at the same time, Apple's iPhone has taken the Swiss Army knife approach and is offering a device that plays music, videos, and games, and also takes photos, downloads books, helps us organize our lives, counts calories and a lot more, thanks to all the applications being written for it.
Sony may have lost the taste for competing in digital music sales by the misguided attempt that was Sony Connect. Connect was a troubled effort marked by infighting and software glitches and the company finally shut it down a year ago.
Subscription music site eMusic has inked a deal with Sony Music to bring selections from the label's catalog--"classic" recordings that are at least two years past their release date--to the online retailer starting in a few months.
eMusic hasn't had the biggest footprint in the digital music retail space of late, falling well behind iTunes--and some say that Amazon MP3 has grown bigger as well. eMusic was one of the first players in the space to offer music free of digital rights management (DRM) restrictions, which a few years ago more or less meant that the big labels wouldn't go anywhere near it and that its offerings were largely limited to independent music.
Now, eMusic has been trying to brand itself as the music outlet for people who know and appreciate quality music. Calling itself the "Internet's corner music store," it uses a combination of editorial and "crowd-sourced" methods to sift out and recommend new music picks. In other words, this is not where you buy party music by Katy Perry or the Jonas Brothers.
"The site, geared to adults over the age of 25, will contextualize albums and songs from Sony Music's renowned artists," a press release explains, "drawing meaningful connections between 'major' and 'indie' artists, and featuring in-depth discographies and collections built around genres and themes."
