AfterDawn: News

Audiobook publisher backs out of DRM free distribution deal

eMusic's bid to compete with iTunes in audiobook sales suffered a setback when Penguin Audio, one of five publishers initially signed to provide audiobooks, backed out and withdrew 150 titles that were to be available. According to Dick Heffernan, publisher of Penguin Audio, the problem is DRM, or more accurately eMusic's lack of it.

Heffernan said “At this moment we’re not going to have our titles on eMusic or with anyone else who sells non-DRM until the landscape shakes out and we feel very comfortable and confident that our titles will not be pirated.” He indicated that while he had originally approved the deal as an experiment, it was rejected by his superiors.



“We wanted to take a chance and see how it would work out, and our very senior management at this moment decided that we didn’t want to do that,” Mr. Heffernan said. “We hope to possibly come to some kind of agreement down the road.”

But according to Random House Audio publisher Madeline McIntosh piracy hasn't been a problem so far. she said a piracy monitoring firm has yet to find any eMusic copies of their audiobooks on file sharing sites.

eMusic CEO David Pakman says the site is already beating projections for audiobook sales, despite no plans to advertise them until December.

Source: New York Times

Written by: Rich Fiscus @ 22 Oct 2007 11:00

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• 4 comments

• thekingo7

  What a dumb fuck. Honestly, he actually "wants" DRM. Doesnt he realize the restrictions involved with DRM, how does he expect people using ipods to listen to these audiobooks when they a infested with DRM, I dont know anyone who just sits at their computer listening to an audiobook.

  22.10.2007 15:11 #1

• P51ride

  This guy better be ready to serve up his audiobooks with mustard, ketchup, and all the other condiments and open wide. DRM is about 95 percent of the reason that most things end up on torrent sites.
  
  He can also kiss my six o clock.

  22.10.2007 22:54 #2

• borhan9

  Well there we go another crazy that thinks drm is the way to go well ill wait and see what the backlash to this is for that crazy person because no noes gets drm music and if they do they remove it at once.

  24.10.2007 17:06 #3

• mspurloc

  Penguin and Viking titles are ridiculously overpriced, another sign, like this one, that they are hopelessly out of step with the times.
  
  DRM-free was the only way I would ever buy their stuff new.
  
  So I'll keep buying the print versions second-hand, or get them from the library. Or maybe I'll just give in and start getting pirated versions. Like many will do. I would much prefer to get a quality download, from them, but that's not possible, is it?
  
  Meanwhile, they can suck a hairy one.
  
  "At this moment we’re not going to have our titles on eMusic or with anyone else who sells non-DRM until the landscape shakes out and we feel very comfortable and confident that our titles will not be pirated.”
  
  If he really approved the deal (without his superiors' approval? Come on.) more power to him, but you know what? His superiors have GUARANTEED their existing DRM-INFECTED inventory WILL be pirated.
  
  Morons.

  18.7.2008 11:51 #4