Last week it was the complete transcript of Mr Campbell’s Blair Years that were being emailed around the internet for many to read, search and digest for free. One Journalist in the Telegraph had great fun counting word repetitions. This week we now hear that the secret is out and Harry Potter’s final and highly embargoed book is circulating on the Web ahead of its magic launch.
The New York Times states that the pictures can be downloaded through sites like the Pirate Bay and MediaFire and that despite the amateur scanning that the highly protected ending was definitely legible. According to BigChampagne, a research firm that tracks file-sharing, tens of thousands of people downloaded the files yesterday.
However the best and most insightful comment comes from Steve Riggio, CEO of Barnes & Noble, “If in fact the book is posted online or the ending is revealed prior to midnight on Friday, it will not result in us selling a single less copy of the book.” As far as Mr. Riggio is concerned, the press coverage and noise just increases more advance orders. Spot on and it shows the power of the viral market even if its in the control of others.
