Line Up The Exclusive and Special Editions

Here's a good game for Christmas - line up the Sony exclusive readers.

1. UK retailer John Lewis exclusive.

2. The Ian Fleming / James Bond limited edition.

3. The Michael Connelly limited edition.

4. The Debbie Macomber limited edition.

5. The Danielle Steel limited edition.

6. The James Patterson limited edition.

7. The Harlequin 60th celebration Romance limited edition.

8. The Mills and Boon exclusive edition

Exclusive Digital Bundling To Sell More Tin

Bundling a ebook reader to an exclusive ebook launch is a bit scary, as it sets yet another ‘exclusive’ deal and feeds on scarcity and demand.

Sony UK has announced another of its spray paint limited edition models of their Reader Pocket Edition™. Remember the John Lewis and the Mills and Boon Romance ones, well we now have the thriller one. They appear to have have now found some midnight blue paint for the reader and created a ‘premium case’ with an embossed Alex Cross logo on the front. Obviously that by itself would not generate much interest, so they have thrown in The James Patterson’s best selling Alex Cross novel, ‘Cross Country,’ selected excerpts from two James Patterson books and a letter from the author. However the real offer really revolves around every customer who purchases the bundle being able to download a new James Patterson novel ‘Worst Case’ from Christmas Day. The hardback and eBook will go on general sale from January 21st 2010. The bundle will be available from 30th November. So unless you are a Patterson freak or like very expensive books the deal looks a bit weak.

So the ebook is not only coming out on first, which we fully support, but exclusively to Sony for some 3 weeks, which we feel is a bundle too far. At a time when we are trying to combat piracy and grow the digital market, it is questionable whether creating scarcity and bundling demand in a clear exclusive deal, is good for the industry or merely good for Sony. Why should other buyers who have invested in supporting the ebook movement be penalised so blatantly so Sony can ship more tin at Christmas? More importantly this sort of exclusive deal just encourages pirates to break the restrictions which will not be hard to break and therefore merely feeds the very people we are all trying to restrict.

We hope Random House will see sense and respect that James Patterson’s readers do not just want a midnight blue premium ticket reader to enjoy their reading.

Yesterday Discounts -Today Exclusivity

We read so much now about the magic word ‘exclusive’. It is used as if it is something clever that a Marketing wiz kid has discovered to make the offer more compelling. The reality is that it is often born out of pure self interest and is inherently a bad trading practice. Like discounting it can work well in the right place and for the right reasons but if abused or over used it like others can become destructive.

We have Waterstones having a two week exclusive deal on the Sony reader. These are at a time when the market is starting to develop not restrict consumer digital awareness, choice and confidence. We have long wished that Audible adopted an open approach that enabled their DRM to be used under licence by all and not just by them. There are other deals, such as that between Ingram and the Fictionwise to restrict the usage of their new iPhone application. However, many of these such deals don’t restrict the title only the channel and delivery. Some would argue that they are bad practice, others that it’s market forces etc., others that its mere testosterone!

The joke about the exclusive book deals that Amazon has started to do and that others will surely now follow is that Amazon already has an exclusive. A Kindle tile can only be served up by them, over their exclusive connection, to their exclusive reader. So why does the title also have to be a digital exclusive? When we look at Booksurge and POD, we see similar desire and intent to restrict the channel, but not exclusivity today. If the publisher wishes their title to also be available via LSI or Rowe they merely have to do so. Some may agrue that Amazon has now seen a way to become the exclusive digital publisher of that title in perpetuity? Some may say that this is a cleaver and another cheap back door into acquiring digital rights?

Any publisher who enters into an exclusive distribution and retail agreement on digital content that is tied to an exclusive channel and technology needs to think about what they are trying to achieve and the potential risk versus short term reward. Authors and agents should also think about such ‘special deals’ both in terms of rights ownership and reversals.

As we move forward into this Brave New Digital World we must think not once but twice and avoid stumbling into practices that have long term potential dangers to all that may not have been thought out by those seking shortterm self gain.

A Brave New World?

You would expect even competitors to realise that in an un-established and immature market that a certain amount of collaboration is healthy to create consumer confidence? Maybe first past the post is what it is all about.

Take one digital option –totally closed from one source and clearly not ‘open’. The content can only be served up one way and although the consumer may be happy with the service, the content providers must question what sort of power monster they are creating. Everyone wants to recreate iTunes!

Take another option – totally ‘open’ standards but maybe not. Today you can only use one DRM wrapper and can only download it to one device. Not only that but to top it all this is only initially available exclusively through one retailer.

Hello – spot the difference?

Ignoring that this may only be a temporary situation and that others should soon be able to join in, what is the message that these approaches is sending out both within the trade and out with it? Imagine a new Harry Potter being given an exclusive release to one supermarket? Would other retailers be happy and not plot their revenge? Would other publishers seek similar deals? Would the consumer wonder what is happening?

The PA and BA have stood up and backed open digital standards. Ian Hudson’s BA conference speech reiterated our own words on the importance of interoperability. Many want a level playing field that enables all to play, supports the existing channel and delivers the messages from the Brave New World report.

So why are some acting so short term? Why aren’t publishers objecting to the narrowing of the field before the race has begun? What is this obsession with global domination before a shot has been fired?

Instead of World ebook day, some would say that we heading towards many exclusive ebook days and a future divided?