Random House Embraces Soft DRM, Joining Major German Publishers in Abandoning Strict DRM
For some time now, a customer-friendly trend has been emerging in Germany regarding the use of strict Adobe DRM, as more and more publishers are forgoing this largely ineffective and often disruptive measure for many lay consumers. Today, with Random House announcing that they too will now adopt a soft watermark protection, the largest public publishing group joins this movement.
Random House is thus following a growing trend within the German publishing industry. Notable publishers like Bastei Lübbe, Bonnier, DuMont, Holzbrinck, and dtv have been abandoning (strict) DRM for some time now.
According to the press release, this step aligns Random House with the industry consensus. They hope this will increase customer satisfaction, reduce complexity, and expand their business into eBook shops that do not offer strict DRM.
At the same time, they emphasize—like several other publishers switching away from DRM—that illegal eBook copies will still be pursued, and that the soft protection in use starting October 1st will be an important tool in helping with this. Typically, eBooks will be marked with an invisible code allowing the file to be traced back to the buyer.
From a data protection perspective, this is admittedly not an ideal solution but is considerably less problematic in terms of file usage than the Adobe DRM that is usually deployed. Considering that even with Adobe-protected files, it is possible to trace the buyer, and the US company was hacked not too long ago with apparently all their customer data stolen, the use of soft protection is arguably the lesser of two evils.
Amazon Loses Main Advantage: User-Friendliness
Another key point to consider with the growing prevalence of soft DRM and the declining market share of Adobe: The absence of strict DRM strengthens the position of eBook providers other than Amazon.
One of the biggest advantages of the Kindle system is its extremely user-friendly setup. As a new user, you hardly have to worry about anything, as after initially setting up the eReader (provided it’s purchased directly from Amazon), you can shop and read without any confusing registrations with third-party providers.
With Amazon’s competitors moving away from the use of Adobe ID, the greatest disadvantage compared to the Kindle system is eliminated, as most service inquiries from new customers pertain to Adobe usage.
Publishers and Amazon in Conflict
Another significant aspect is the direct business relations between publishers and Amazon. Recently, particularly in the US but also partially in Europe and Germany, there have been tensions between the retail giant and various publishing groups. These disputes mainly revolved around negotiating new terms, leading to what was widely referred to as the “Terms Dispute.”
Amazon has now become one of the most important booksellers in the Western world, giving the US company a strong hand in enforcing their demands.
The share of the eBook market also plays a significant role in this. In the US, this share is particularly large, as Amazon holds a near monopoly on the digital book market following the ongoing collapse of Barnes & Noble’s digital business.
Although the overall market share of eBooks in Germany is quite small compared to the total book market, it continues to grow steadily (albeit slower than originally predicted). By supporting Amazon’s competitors with the abandonment of Adobe DRM, publishers are also improving their own negotiating position with the online giant in the long term.
Late, but Not Too Late
Since the launch of ALLESebook.de, we (and almost all other bloggers, industry observers, and users) have always believed that strict protection serves no real purpose—except for Adobe, who receives licensing fees for using the system. From a customer’s perspective, it complicates eBook usage, and from a publisher and author’s perspective, it offers no real protection, as the DRM measures can be bypassed with just a few clicks (or even automated).
Unfortunately, it has taken several years for these insights to reach the management level of various publishers. Even though this change happened quite late, it’s never too late for such a sensible adjustment.
The advantages for both customers and publishers (see above) are quite clear and will definitely make handling eBook files much more pleasant.
Adobe, however, is unlikely to welcome these developments in the German publishing world. Germany is the second-largest book market worldwide and still holds great growth potential concerning eBook share. Furthermore, Adobe might have hoped to win back critical publishers with last year’s announcement of a new DRM system that is said to be uncrackable.
The biggest problem, however, is that it would take many, many years before eBook shops could exclusively distribute the new DRM protection, as older eReader models would require a software update, likely available for only a fraction of the models in circulation.
As a result, customers might just turn to another shop that doesn’t use the new protection or, in the worst-case scenario, simply shop at Amazon, whose non-Adobe DRM measure can also be bypassed. Not a favorable outlook for publishers, and thus not a compelling reason to adopt the new system.
This could potentially signal the end of an entire business line for Adobe, as it’s no longer overly optimistic to assume that the remaining German publishers will follow suit (and turn away from strict DRM), making an Adobe ID unnecessary for digital readers in this country.
And if this succeeds here, other European publishers might also look to Germany’s successful model. The international ambitions of the Tolino alliance could also support this.
Whatever the case, it’ll be interesting to see what the next few years bring, and we can only hope that using an eBook will soon be as easy as using an MP3 file.
