All-You-Can-Eat Digital Book Buffets

As the music industry continues its battle to find a viable business model in an age where songs are easily pirated, one expert thinks publishers should follow their lead–offering limited-time free access to large digital book catalogs.

O’Reilly Media manager Joe Wikert pointed to a NY Times article about how music companies are working on new sprawling alliances with service providers. Here’s one example: “The government of the Isle of Man announced plans for a system under which consumers with broadband subscriptions would be required to pay a nominal monthly license fee. They could then legally download music from any source, even peer-to-peer services that are outlawed currently.”

Wikert suggested that publishers strike similar deals with broadband or mobile phone companies, allowing free “all-you-can-eat” book downloads for a limited time, and then charging customers for a subscription after the trial period. Read the whole post here.

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