ENTRIES TAGGED "Kindle Owners’ Lending Library"
Will we ever see a “Spotify for ebooks”?
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My music buying habits have definitely changed over the years. I’m doing a lot more streaming now and rarely buying individual tracks or albums. I use Spotify but I also started using Rdio. I’m still in the free trial period for the latter and not sure which, if either, I’ll end up paying for.
One question that seems to keep popping up in the ebook publishing world is, “when will a Spotify for ebooks emerge?” You could argue that a few services already offer unlimited access to free ebook content. Those services are, of course, limited in their breadth. You won’t find any offering all the latest bestsellers, for example, but Spotify and other streaming music services let you listen to plenty of hits.
Streaming content: Why buy when you can borrow so much more?
Why ownership of streaming content is overrated
I remember when the early music streaming services were being launched and how I knew I’d never join one. I want to own my content, darn it! Now I rarely buy songs but I love listening to Spotify. I’ve evolved. I’m not alone though and I’m convinced the streaming content model will be very successful with ebooks.
I was speaking recently with an industry colleague and he mentioned how DVDs are now more of a hassle than an asset. Think about it. We used to pride ourselves on that shelf full of jewel cases but I think he’s right. How many times do I watch a video/episode/movie again? Almost never. A scene or storyline might come up in conversation where I’d like to show someone a clip on my phone/tablet/computer though. In other words, cloud access to that content (via YouTube, Hulu, a digital locker, etc.) is more useful and valuable to me than the DVD collecting dust in my living room.