Of Pirates and iPhones

After a months-long cat-and-mouse chase, a notorious textbook piracy site appears to be down for good. Despite stating that his Textbook Torrents site would stick around as a means of civil disobedience against publishers, Geekman has finally given in due to the increasing pressure from publishers and the concern of legal action. In a final statement, he called for more piracy sites to take his place.

Now, it's worth remembering that not many people are on publishers' sides these days. While condemning reports continue to pile up, the alternative market continues to expand. I recently stumbled across WikiBooks, for instance, which aims to offer free material. However, sites like these aren't too likely to catch on, given concerns over the quality of academic materials provided.

Accordingly, it seems more and more to be innovative marketing practices and technological advancements that grab the textbook headlines. I alluded to the exciting Flatworld Knowledge model last week, as well as the growing open source market. The latest model comes from Columbia Business School and follows the marketing scheme used by Radiohead in the sale of their In Rainbows album: customers pay what they want to access the material online. For profit, a printed version and companion volume are also available, making this model more financially viable (and along the lines of the Flatworld Knowledge model).

Meanwhile, the iPhone seems to be attracting a greater audience to e-books, news that will likely be welcomed by all concerned, from publishers to students and even to competing e-reader creators. This, simply because it illustrates that students (and the public in general) are willing to give e-books a shot.

Time will tell whether this case of piracy is the first of many (and if publishers retain their oligopoly as books go digital, there will be plenty more) or if it is a sign of the times in a bold switch to alternative markets.