NYTimes Columnist Explains How He Torrented 'The Bourne Identity' Because It Wasn't Available... Then Sent A Check
from the leaving-money-on-the-table dept
Famed NY Times columnist David Pogue has a history of recognizing that some of the "fears" about internet "piracy" are overblown. So it's great to see him using his NYTimes blog to explain how he ended up torrenting an unauthorized ebook copy of The Bourne Identity for his son. Apparently, due to royalty fights, Robert Ludlum's estate remains a hold-out on the ebook front, so there simply are no authorized ebooks to buy -- though Pogue tried pretty much every possible ebook store to see if he could track one down. Eventually, he did what many people do in such a situation:Dudes: It’s 2012. You’re among the last big-name holdouts on the face of the earth. You’re worried about the royalty rate? How about worrying about the thousands of dollars a month you’ve been leaving on the table by not offering the books to the public who’s willing to buy it?He notes that he then sent the publisher a check for $9.99. I am hoping that he will do a followup on whether or not they actually cash it.
Eventually, I did what I’m sure thousands of frustrated Ludlum fans wind up doing: I downloaded the book from a BitTorrent site.
Filed Under: business models, david pogue, ebooks, robert ludlum, the bourne identity
