What if I don't think "The Manipulator" is even a he/she/it, or that the non-he/she/it really even manipulates in the classic sense of the term?

Seriously though, what do you think my concept of the manipulator is?

El Compartimiento el Bitcoin


I know of this guy in NYC who has a TV show...

If you want to sell DRM encumbered content for example via Apple iTunes, then at least make sure that it is also available to GNU / Linux users who are using 100% Free Software at the same time and also make a DRM unencumbered copy of the content available to your paid subscribers at no additional cost within a reasonable period of time say one or two months.

+100

If your company chooses to go that route, it proves you are more afraid of loss than confident in your abilities.  If I can read this for free on my linux desktop, as well as my barnes & noble nook without special software, I may do so.  And I may choose to compensate whoever provides it to me, whether it is you or a pirate.  Get over yourself, and quit hiding behind feeble locks a competent locksmith can open with a bobby pin.  If your shit is good, you will be rewarded beyond your imagination.  If not, best to fail spectacularly and move on.

Edit:
Digital costs you nothing to distribute other than a choice.  And it will drive physical sales by building your audience.

By DRM, I just mean a protected format.  Anything that you have to be logged in to view, or jump through similar hoops to get to.

My fear is that many people here will just say "no thank you" right back.  I believe you would actually lose volume if you stuck with a protected format.  That is why I am advocating an unprotected PDF format.  Yes, people will pirate it, but many of those people would pirate it anyway (they will find a way around it very quickly).  But people here are generally good about supporting businesses that aim to further Bitcoin's cause, and a dedicated magazine would go straight to the top of that list as long as it's not in a protected format, since that is another big point of contention among this crowd.

Also, an unprotected format is something that would get sent around to family and friends via email.  While you might think this is a bad thing at first, the exposure to your magazine would be incredible.  For those who then become interested in the magazine at that point, you'll garner more subscriptions.  For everyone else, no revenue was lost (those friends and family members wouldn't have randomly subscribed to your magazine).  So in that sense, you have a gain to volume due to an open format, not a loss.


I don't think it's unreasonable to release the first volume protected, then subsequent volumes unprotected.  Those who want unprotected volumes can wait a month, and knowing that an unprotected release is coming should be adequate for most of them.  In fact, that might not be a bad model to go by for future releases.  Give the magazine to the subscribers in a protected format for the first month, then give it to those same subscribers in an unprotected format afterward.  I wouldn't say give it away free to non-subscribers, as you'll miss out on sales from people who don't want to torrent things, but don't mind paying for them.  But you should be able to make all sides happy with that sort of arrangement.


Yikes... $80,000 sunk in to the magazine?  That IS a lot.

Anyway, like I said above, it's all about pandering to the crowd you are targeting.  This particular crowd loves free-format files, so to avoid alienating them, you need to provide them with such.  That doesn't mean that none of them will buy it.  In fact, I believe it will be quite the opposite - you will have a lot more support, and more volume, if you offer it in an unprotected format.

Think of it like archive.org.  Likely, very few people here donated to them before they started accepting Bitcoins as donations.  When they did start accepting Bitcoin donations, they had a ton of support from folks here, to the tune of several thousand dollars worth of BTC.  Your magazine could be the same way - you won't have much support on the digital front from this crowd, unless you release an unprotected format, which people would support just because it's an unprotected format and that is rare these days.

Ok, I'm done with my soap box speeches.  I think I've said more than enough for you to understand why I think this is important.  

I think you're misunderstanding me. I'm not suggesting you give away the digital copy for free.

p.s. the mere mention of DRM turns me off the entire project.

Place ads on the plastic. That should help offset the cost. Consider doing it in such a way that the plastic is apt to be saved, thereby making the plastic as valuable as the mag. You can even print on both sides of the plastic, as you already well know. Ad advertiser could pay to have a QR-Code on the reverse, only readable once opened, linked to a special offer.

I like how I sparked this whole conversation about free or not free, DRM, piracy, etc.  Dude, you put a photo of an Anonymous member on the cover and you are now trying to justify charging for it and locking it down.

I already purchased a 12 month subscription...

I don't really care either way. I know enough so that I can strip any DRM off of a digital copy, and will do so in order to use it on the device of my choosing (thinking my new Nook Simple Touch).

Because writers and editors (and other staff) still have to be paid, and physical publishing of the magazine has to be covered as well.

I hate to say it Matthew, because I am one of the most anti-piracy people you'll ever meet, but I think you're barking up the wrong tree on this one, namely because the crowd you are dealing with is composed mostly of people who are outspokenly pro-piracy (libertarians and all that).  The fact is, it will be pirated no matter how much you try to protect it, and people here will be less apt to support your operation if you try to fight it.  You can already see the animosity rising in this very thread.

I would recommend that your team seriously considers coblee's suggestion.  Release it as a downloadable PDF (or in-page PDF) to paid subscribers, frown on anyone who file shares it or torrents it (make them at least feel guilty about it), and have a note inside the cover suggesting that anyone who downloaded the magazine without paying for it should send 0.5 BTC to an address you specify.  That way, you'll still have the support of EVERYONE from the community.  As it is, you've already received tremendous support from people both verbally and monetarily, and it'd be a shame to see that flushed away trying to control the materials with DRM.

You'll have my support regardless of what you decide to do, but I think a lot of the community support will drop away if you continue with the pro-DRM stance.  It's exactly the wrong crowd to market anything with DRM to.

Somebody else already pointed out that DRM doesn't work and only harms paying customers. Copyright infringement is not the same as "stealing." It also appears you don't support copyright law at all, by suggesting that "unprotected" works do not deserve copyright protection. By that logic, it is Okay for me to buy a copy, scan it at high resolution, and post it on the Internet.


You sound like you may be willing to release back-issues under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial license. Getting the magazine in a timely manner may be enough incentive to encourage purchases of the print edition.

You also seem to be falling into the same trap as my local newspaper's parent company (On a "digital first" strategy). The text is digital information already. Only the graphics are analog. By partnering with e-distributers, you are no longer the publisher. For example, Apple takes a 30% cut and exercises editorial discretion. In the future, they may even inject their own advertisements over your magazine.

Do you think there are more people in the Bitcoin community who...

Will be upset that you use technological measures to prevent copying & sharing, making them not want to support you financially?

or

Will be happy to donate Bitcoin to you after downloading your magazine for free (say from The Pirate Bay) and enjoying your content?

Yeah, I paid. What do I get to own?

I would recommend that you do away with DRM, and put a bitcoin address (first bits or a link to open up bitcoin app) in the magazine for people to pay for their copy if they got it for free. I believe people who would normally pay for your magazine would send you bitcoins. And those that don't are likely people that wouldn't buy it in the first place, so it's no money lost. Then you can even do the raffles idea and pick a winner each month that gets a free subscription. That would incentivize people to pay for it.

So sending me the digital copy isn't something you have in mind? Are you worried I'll show my magazine to people? Is it okay if I show the paper copy to people?

DRM prevents people who don't know what they're doing from copying a "protected" work. It doesn't stop people who know what they're doing, or people who don't know what they're doing form getting it from those that do.

see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_management#Impossible_task

(read from Impossible Task on into Shortcomings)

I'm not aware of a single type of DRM that has not been broken. That of Blu-ray discs took a very long time, but it was supposed to be unbreakable.